Iyari
A Japanese unisex name with disputed meanings, possibly meaning "survivor" or "beautiful bloom".
Name Census estimates that about 218 living Americans carry the first name Iyari. It is a predominantly female name (97.3% of registrations). The average person named Iyari today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Iyari births was 2023 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Iyari. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
218
~ 1 in 1,572,268 Americans
Peak year
2023
28 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2009 SSA rank
#5,851
Tracked since 2000
Census
Iyari in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 175 people with the first name Iyari, which placed it at #41,669 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#41,669
National first-name rank
People counted
175
175 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
89.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Iyari
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Iyari is Hispanic at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Iyari described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Iyari at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.1% · 156
- Black or African American10.9% · 19
Gender
Gender distribution for Iyari
Iyari leans heavily female at 97.3% of total registrations, but 6 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Iyari as a male name
- Ranked #11,532 in 2009
- 6 male births in 2009
- Peak: 2009 (6 births)
Iyari as a female name
- Ranked #5,851 in 2024
- 21 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (28 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Iyari leans strongly female. 163 people counted with this name were female (88.1%), compared with 22 male bearers (11.9%).
Popularity
Iyari: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Iyari from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 95 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Iyari remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Iyari by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Iyari during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Iyaris live
Origin
Meaning and history of Iyari
The name Iyari has its origins in the Yoruba language, spoken primarily in southwestern Nigeria and parts of neighboring countries like Benin and Togo. The Yoruba people have a rich cultural heritage dating back centuries, and their naming traditions often reflect this.
Iyari is believed to be derived from the Yoruba word "iya," which means "mother" or "source." This suggests that the name may have been given to children as a way of honoring or expressing gratitude towards their mothers or maternal lineage. It could also be interpreted as a name that signifies the bearer's role as a source of life or sustenance.
While the exact origins and earliest recorded use of the name Iyari are not entirely clear, it is likely that the name has been in use among the Yoruba people for several centuries. However, there are no known references to the name in ancient texts or religious scriptures from the region.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Iyari was a 19th-century Yoruba woman named Iyari Agbonmiregun, who was a prominent leader and trader in the city of Abeokuta. She played a significant role in the city's resistance against the Dahomey Kingdom's invasion in the 1840s.
Another notable figure with the name Iyari was Iyari Agbabiaka, a Yoruba chief and warrior who lived in the late 18th century. He was known for his bravery and leadership in battles against neighboring kingdoms.
In the 20th century, Iyari Ogan was a Nigerian artist and sculptor who gained recognition for her work in preserving and promoting Yoruba cultural traditions through her art. She was born in 1935 and passed away in 2011.
Iyari Akinsola, born in 1948, is a renowned Nigerian writer and academic who has contributed significantly to the study of Yoruba literature and culture. Her works have explored themes of identity, tradition, and the role of women in Yoruba society.
Iyari Adebayo, born in 1962, is a Nigerian politician and former governor of Ekiti State. He served as the governor from 2003 to 2006 and played a role in promoting education and infrastructure development in the state.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Iyari, reflecting its deep roots in Yoruba culture and heritage.
People
Iyari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Iyari as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Iyari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Iyari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 218 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Iyari going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,572,268 US residents.
Is Iyari a common name?
We classify Iyari as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 220 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Iyari most popular?
The single biggest year for Iyari was 2023, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Iyari is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Iyari in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 175 people with the name Iyari, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,669 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Iyari in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Iyari?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Iyari leans strongly female. 163 people counted with this name were female (88.1%), compared with 22 male bearers (11.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Iyari?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Iyari is Hispanic at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Iyari most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Iyari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (156 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Iyari in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Iyari a female name?
Yes, 97.3% of people registered as Iyari in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Iyari still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Iyari in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Iyari can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Iyari as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.