Jawanda
A feminine name of Indian origin representing the beauty of youth.
Name Census estimates that about 237 living Americans carry the first name Jawanda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jawanda today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jawanda births was 1975 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jawanda. 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
237
~ 1 in 1,446,221 Americans
Peak year
1975
21 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2000 SSA rank
#16,088
Tracked since 1964
Census
Jawanda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 260 people with the first name Jawanda, which placed it at #32,383 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
#32,383
National first-name rank
People counted
260
260 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jawanda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jawanda is Black at 85.8%. The next largest groups are White (7.7%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Jawanda 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 Jawanda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.8% · 223
- White7.7% · 20
- Two or more races4.6% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 5
Popularity
Jawanda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jawanda from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 106 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jawanda 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 Jawanda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jawanda
The name Jawanda is believed to have originated from the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the Punjab region. It is a combination of two Sanskrit words, "ja" meaning "born" and "wanda" meaning "praise" or "worship." This suggests that the name may have religious or spiritual connotations, possibly referring to a person born into a spiritual or priestly lineage.
In ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, there are references to individuals with similar names, such as Jawanta or Jawantika, which could be variations or derivatives of Jawanda. However, there is no definitive record of the name Jawanda itself being mentioned in these ancient texts.
The earliest recorded use of the name Jawanda can be traced back to the 16th century in the Punjab region of India. During this time, the name appears in historical records and documents related to the Sikh empire and the Mughal era.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Jawanda was Bhai Jawanda Singh (1670-1748), a prominent Sikh warrior and leader who played a significant role in the battles against the Mughal rulers. He is revered for his bravery and unwavering commitment to the Sikh faith.
Another prominent individual with the name Jawanda was Sardar Jawanda Singh Aulakh (1843-1914), a renowned military commander and political leader in the Punjab region during the late 19th century. He was instrumental in organizing resistance against British colonial rule and advocating for the rights of the Sikh community.
In the field of literature, Jawanda Kaur (1913-1989) was a celebrated Punjabi poet and writer. Her works explored themes of love, spirituality, and social justice, and she was widely recognized for her contributions to Punjabi literature.
Jawanda Singh Dhillon (1925-2005) was a prominent Indian physicist and academic. He made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics and served as the Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar.
Lastly, Jawanda Masih (1940-2021) was a renowned Pakistani Christian evangelist and religious leader. He dedicated his life to spreading the teachings of Christianity and establishing numerous churches and educational institutions in Pakistan.
While the name Jawanda is predominantly found in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the Punjab region, it has also gained recognition and popularity in other parts of the world due to migration and cultural exchange.
People
Jawanda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jawanda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jawanda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jawanda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 237 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jawanda 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 1,446,221 US residents.
Is Jawanda a common name?
We classify Jawanda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 257 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jawanda most popular?
The single biggest year for Jawanda was 1975, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jawanda is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jawanda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 260 people with the name Jawanda, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,383 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 Jawanda 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 Jawanda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jawanda appears almost entirely female. Of the 263 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Jawanda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jawanda is Black at 85.8%. The next largest groups are White (7.7%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Jawanda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jawanda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.8% (223 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 Jawanda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jawanda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jawanda 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 Jawanda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jawanda 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 Jawanda 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 the name Jawanda?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.