Laveda
A feminine name meaning "prosperous path" in French.
Name Census estimates that about 474 living Americans carry the first name Laveda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Laveda today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Laveda births was 1921 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Laveda. 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
474
~ 1 in 723,110 Americans
Peak year
1921
28 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
2011 SSA rank
#18,366
Tracked since 1912
Census
Laveda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 594 people with the first name Laveda, which placed it at #18,210 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
#18,210
National first-name rank
People counted
594
594 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laveda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laveda is White at 54.9%. The next largest groups are Black (34.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Laveda 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 Laveda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.9% · 326
- Black or African American34.2% · 203
- Two or more races4.2% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.7% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 5
Popularity
Laveda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Laveda from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 206 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Laveda 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 Laveda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lavedas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas recorded the most babies named Laveda, while Ohio, Missouri, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Laveda
The name Laveda is believed to have its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE. It is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit words "lav" meaning "to be loved" or "to be desired," and "da" meaning "to give." Thus, the name Laveda can be interpreted as "to give love" or "one who is loved."
While the exact origin and meaning of the name are subject to scholarly debate, some historians trace its roots to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures. However, there is a lack of concrete historical references or mentions of the name in these ancient texts, making its early history somewhat elusive.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Laveda can be found in the 16th century, when it was used as a feminine name in parts of India. During this period, the name gained popularity among certain communities, particularly in the northern regions of the subcontinent.
Over the centuries, the name Laveda has been borne by several notable individuals, although their historical significance may vary. One such individual was Laveda Denny (1854-1938), an American educator and suffragist who played a role in the women's suffrage movement in the early 20th century.
Another notable figure with the name Laveda was Laveda Jackson (1905-1993), an American composer and music educator who made significant contributions to the field of music education in the United States.
In the literary realm, Laveda Bickford (1903-1995) was an American author and journalist who wrote several books and articles on various subjects, including travel and cultural exchange.
Moving to the field of science, Laveda Fasullo (1927-2017) was an American physicist and engineer who worked on the development of radar systems and made important contributions to the understanding of atmospheric physics.
Another individual worth mentioning is Laveda Woodard (1925-2009), an American artist and educator who was known for her vibrant abstract paintings and her dedication to promoting art education in her community.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Laveda throughout history, each making their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human endeavor.
People
Laveda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Laveda 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
Laveda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laveda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 474 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Laveda 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 723,110 US residents.
Is Laveda a common name?
We classify Laveda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,091 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Laveda most popular?
The single biggest year for Laveda was 1921, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Laveda is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Laveda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 594 people with the name Laveda, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,210 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 Laveda 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 Laveda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Laveda appears almost entirely female. Of the 591 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Laveda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laveda is White at 54.9%. The next largest groups are Black (34.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Laveda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Laveda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.9% (326 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 Laveda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Laveda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Laveda 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 Laveda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Laveda 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 Laveda 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 Laveda as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Laveda, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.