Laraya
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "small, little bird".
Name Census estimates that about 297 living Americans carry the first name Laraya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Laraya today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Laraya births was 2013 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Laraya. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Laraya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
297
~ 1 in 1,154,055 Americans
Peak year
2013
20 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,916
Tracked since 1988
Census
Laraya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 221 people with the first name Laraya, which placed it at #36,071 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
#36,071
National first-name rank
People counted
221
221 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
59.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laraya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laraya is Black at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (16.7%) and Two or More Races (9.0%). 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 Laraya 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 Laraya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.7% · 132
- White16.7% · 37
- Two or more races9.0% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native7.2% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 4
Popularity
Laraya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Laraya from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 128 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Laraya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Laraya 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 Laraya 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 Laraya
The name Laraya is believed to have originated from the ancient Sanskrit language of India, dating back to around the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "lara," which means "wave" or "surge," and the suffix "ya," which is often used to form feminine names. The name is thought to have been given to girls born near bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, with the intention of symbolizing the flowing and ever-changing nature of life.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Laraya can be found in the ancient Hindu text, the Mahabharata, which is an epic narrative that contains various stories and teachings. In this text, Laraya is described as a beautiful and virtuous woman who was revered for her wisdom and compassion.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Laraya. One of the earliest recorded examples is Laraya Devi, a renowned Indian philosopher and scholar who lived in the 9th century CE. She is best known for her contributions to the field of logic and her influential treatise on the nature of language and communication.
Another prominent figure was Laraya Kumari, a 14th-century Indian princess who is celebrated for her courage and leadership during a time of political turmoil. She is said to have led her kingdom's army into battle and secured several victories, earning her the respect and admiration of her people.
In the 16th century, there was Laraya Bhanu, a skilled Indian poet and musician who composed numerous works that explored themes of love, nature, and spirituality. Her writings were widely acclaimed and have been preserved and studied by scholars for centuries.
During the 18th century, Laraya Sundari was a celebrated Indian dancer and choreographer who is credited with reviving and popularizing the classical dance form of Kathak. Her performances were renowned for their grace, precision, and emotional depth, and she is considered one of the most influential figures in the history of Indian dance.
In more recent times, Laraya Ghosh was a prominent Indian social activist and educator who dedicated her life to promoting literacy and women's empowerment. Born in 1890, she established numerous schools and educational programs throughout India, and her efforts have had a lasting impact on the country's educational landscape.
People
Laraya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Laraya 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
Laraya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laraya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 297 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Laraya 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 1,154,055 US residents.
Is Laraya a common name?
We classify Laraya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 301 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Laraya most popular?
The single biggest year for Laraya was 2013, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Laraya is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Laraya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 221 people with the name Laraya, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,071 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 Laraya 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 Laraya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Laraya appears almost entirely female. Of the 223 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 Laraya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laraya is Black at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (16.7%) and Two or More Races (9.0%). 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 Laraya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Laraya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.7% (132 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 Laraya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Laraya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Laraya 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 Laraya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Laraya 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 Laraya 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 Laraya?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.