Lawana
A name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from French meaning "a flower".
Name Census estimates that about 1,941 living Americans carry the first name Lawana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lawana today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lawana births was 1971 (87 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lawana. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 176,586 Americans
Peak year
1971
87 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2000 SSA rank
#16,468
Tracked since 1918
Census
Lawana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,057 people with the first name Lawana, which placed it at #7,430 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
#7,430
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,057 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lawana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lawana is White at 55.5%. The next largest groups are Black (36.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Lawana 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 Lawana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.5% · 1,142
- Black or African American36.2% · 745
- Two or more races4.3% · 89
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 58
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 2
Popularity
Lawana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lawana from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 653 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
Lawana 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 Lawana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lawanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Texas, California, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Lawana, while Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 70 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lawana
The name Lawana is believed to have its roots in the Sanskrit language of ancient India, originating sometime around the 5th century BCE. It is thought to be derived from the word "lavan," which means "salt" or "salty." This connection to salt may have been symbolic, as salt was a highly valued and precious commodity in ancient times.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lawana can be found in the Mahabharata, a Sanskrit epic poem that dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In this text, Lawana is mentioned as the name of a river, suggesting that the name may have had a geographic or natural association in its early usage.
During the Gupta Empire, which ruled over much of northern India from the 3rd to the 6th century CE, the name Lawana gained popularity among the nobility and upper classes. It is believed that some members of the royal family or high-ranking officials bore this name, though specific historical records are scarce.
In the 11th century, a notable figure named Lawana Bhatta was a renowned scholar and philosopher from the region of present-day Rajasthan in India. He is credited with writing several influential treatises on logic, linguistics, and religious philosophy, which were widely studied and debated during his time.
Another historical figure bearing the name Lawana was a Sanskrit poet and playwright who lived in the 12th century CE. While little is known about her personal life, her works, such as the play "Lawanavilasa," were highly regarded and celebrated for their literary merit and artistic expression.
In the 16th century, a Rajput warrior named Lawana Singh gained recognition for his bravery and military prowess during the battles against the Mughal Empire. He is said to have led his troops with great courage and strategic acumen, earning him a place in the annals of Rajput history.
While the name Lawana has its roots in ancient India, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and regions over the centuries. However, its earliest origins and most prominent historical figures can be traced back to the Indian subcontinent, where the name has a rich and diverse cultural heritage.
People
Lawana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lawana 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
Lawana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lawana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,941 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lawana 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 176,586 US residents.
Is Lawana a common name?
We classify Lawana as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,028 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lawana most popular?
The single biggest year for Lawana was 1971, when 87 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lawana is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lawana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,057 people with the name Lawana, or 0.68 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,430 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 Lawana 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 Lawana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lawana appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,065 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Lawana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lawana is White at 55.5%. The next largest groups are Black (36.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Lawana most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lawana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.5% (1,142 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 Lawana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lawana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lawana 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 Lawana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lawana 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 Lawana 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 Lawana?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.