Launa
An invented feminine name of unknown meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 1,652 living Americans carry the first name Launa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Launa today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Launa births was 2006 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Launa. 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 Launa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.7K
~ 1 in 207,478 Americans
Peak year
2006
55 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,428
Tracked since 1887
Census
Launa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,068 people with the first name Launa, which placed it at #7,397 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
#7,397
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,068 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Launa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Launa is White at 77.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.8%) and Hispanic (7.5%). 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 Launa 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 Launa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.2% · 1,597
- Black or African American8.8% · 182
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 155
- Two or more races4.5% · 93
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 20
Popularity
Launa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Launa from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 404 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Launa 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 Launa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Launas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, Utah, Texas recorded the most babies named Launa, while Tennessee, Ohio, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Launa
The name Launa has its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language of India, where it was derived from the word "lavana," meaning "salt" or "saline." This connection suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals who lived near the sea or were involved in the production or trade of salt.
Historically, the name Launa can be traced back to the Vedic period of ancient India, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE. During this time, Sanskrit was the predominant language used in religious and philosophical texts, including the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. While the name itself is not directly mentioned in these ancient texts, its linguistic roots in Sanskrit indicate its ancient origins.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Launa appears in the Mahabharata, a Sanskrit epic poem composed between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE. In this text, Launa is mentioned as the name of a warrior who fought alongside the Pandava princes in the great Kurukshetra war.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Launa. One of the most famous was Launa Sundari (1335-1420), a renowned Bengali poet and mystic who is credited with composing numerous devotional songs and poems dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali.
Another notable figure was Launa Prasad Mishra (1856-1932), an Indian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and the study of planetary orbits.
In the realm of art, Launa Tawhai (1892-1963) was a celebrated Maori sculptor and wood carver from New Zealand, known for her intricate and culturally significant works that portrayed traditional Maori motifs and legends.
Moving into the modern era, Launa Anderson (1939-2011) was an American actress and dancer who starred in several Broadway musicals and television shows, including the popular series "The Donna Reed Show."
Lastly, Launa Inman (born 1957) is a contemporary American author and entrepreneur who has written several books on mindfulness, personal growth, and spirituality, inspiring readers worldwide with her insightful teachings.
While the name Launa may have ancient roots, it has continued to be used throughout various cultures and time periods, carrying with it a rich tapestry of history and meaning.
People
Launa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Launa 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
Launa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Launa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,652 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Launa 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 207,478 US residents.
Is Launa a common name?
We classify Launa as "Rare". It ranks above 92.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,638 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Launa most popular?
The single biggest year for Launa was 2006, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Launa is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Launa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,068 people with the name Launa, or 0.68 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,397 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 Launa 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 Launa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Launa appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,071 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 Launa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Launa is White at 77.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.8%) and Hispanic (7.5%). 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 Launa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Launa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.2% (1,597 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 Launa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Launa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Launa 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 Launa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Launa 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 Launa 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 Launa?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Launa at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.