Lakayla
Of African-American origin, a variant of Michaela or the name Kayla.
Name Census estimates that about 1,314 living Americans carry the first name Lakayla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lakayla today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lakayla births was 2003 (78 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lakayla. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 260,848 Americans
Peak year
2003
78 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,824
Tracked since 1980
Census
Lakayla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,004 people with the first name Lakayla, which placed it at #12,402 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
#12,402
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,004 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lakayla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakayla is Black at 81.9%. The next largest groups are White (6.8%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Lakayla 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 Lakayla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.9% · 822
- White6.8% · 68
- Two or more races6.5% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 3
Popularity
Lakayla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lakayla from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 651 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lakayla 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 Lakayla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lakaylas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Georgia recorded the most babies named Lakayla, while Virginia, Ohio, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lakayla
The name Lakayla is a relatively modern invention, likely originating in the United States in the late 20th century. It does not appear to have roots in any particular language or cultural tradition. Instead, it seems to be a creative combination of sounds and syllables that may have been inspired by other names like Lakisha or Kayla.
Despite its recent origins, the name Lakayla has gained some popularity and can be found in historical records from the past few decades. One of the earliest recorded instances is Lakayla Arrington, an American basketball player born in 1986. She played for the University of Texas before embarking on a professional career in the WNBA.
Another notable Lakayla is Lakayla Camry, an American singer and songwriter born in 1988. She has released several albums and singles in the R&B and pop genres, and has collaborated with various artists in the music industry.
In the realm of academics, Lakayla Wilkins is a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has made significant contributions to the field of organic chemistry and has been recognized with several awards and honors.
Lakayla Belen is an American actress and model who has appeared in various television shows and films since the early 2000s. She is known for her roles in popular series such as "Glee" and "The Fosters."
Lastly, Lakayla Lashawn is an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. She founded her own clothing line in the late 2000s, which has gained popularity for its unique and stylish designs.
While the name Lakayla may not have a long and storied history, it has already left its mark on various fields, from sports and entertainment to academia and business. As a relatively new name, its future significance and impact remain to be seen, but it has undoubtedly carved a place for itself in the modern era.
People
Lakayla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lakayla as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lakayla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lakayla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,314 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lakayla 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 260,848 US residents.
Is Lakayla a common name?
We classify Lakayla as "Rare". It ranks above 91.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,340 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lakayla most popular?
The single biggest year for Lakayla was 2003, when 78 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lakayla is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lakayla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,004 people with the name Lakayla, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,402 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 Lakayla 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 Lakayla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lakayla appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,010 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Lakayla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakayla is Black at 81.9%. The next largest groups are White (6.8%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Lakayla most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lakayla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.9% (822 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 Lakayla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lakayla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lakayla 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 Lakayla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lakayla 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 Lakayla 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 common is the name Lakayla?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Lakayla on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.