Liza
The name Liza, a feminine diminutive of Elizabeth, derives from Hebrew meaning "consecrated to God".
Name Census estimates that about 14,445 living Americans carry the first name Liza. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Liza today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Liza births was 1973 (518 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Liza. 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 Liza with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
14K
~ 1 in 23,728 Americans
Peak year
1973
518 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1984 SSA rank
#1,806
Tracked since 1880
Census
Liza in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 18,277 people with the first name Liza, which placed it at #1,691 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
#1,691
National first-name rank
People counted
18K
18,277 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Liza
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Liza is White at 47.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.5%). 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 Liza 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 Liza at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.4% · 8,659
- Hispanic or Latino28.6% · 5,219
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.5% · 2,827
- Black or African American5.5% · 1,001
- Two or more races2.6% · 468
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 103
Gender
Gender distribution for Liza
Out of the 17,526 babies given the name Liza since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Liza as a male name
- Ranked #6,938 in 1984
- 5 male births in 1984
- Peak: 1975 (9 births)
Liza as a female name
- Ranked #1,806 in 2024
- 111 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1973 (518 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Liza appears almost entirely female. Of the 18,271 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Liza: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Liza from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 4,273 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Liza 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 Liza during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lizas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Liza, while Oregon, Oklahoma, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 296 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Liza
The name Liza is a diminutive form of the name Elizabeth, which has its roots in the Hebrew name Elisheva, meaning "God is my oath" or "consecrated to God." The name Elizabeth gained popularity during the Middle Ages, and its shortened form, Liza, emerged as a common variant.
The earliest recorded use of the name Liza can be traced back to the 16th century in various European countries. It was particularly popular in Russia, where it was spelled as Liza or Lizaveta. In fact, one of the most famous bearers of this name was Liza Arzamasova (1836-1920), a Russian philanthropist and patron of the arts.
In literature, the name Liza has appeared in several notable works. In Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment," one of the main characters is named Sonya Marmeladova, but she is affectionately called Liza by her family and friends. Additionally, in Leo Tolstoy's masterpiece "Anna Karenina," one of the characters is named Liza Merkalova.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Liza. One of the most famous was Liza Minnelli (born 1946), the legendary American actress, singer, and dancer, known for her performances in films such as "Cabaret" and "Arthur." Another well-known Liza was Liza Tarbuck (born 1964), an English actress and television presenter who has appeared in numerous British TV shows and films.
In the world of music, Liza Minnelli's mother, Liza Minnelli (1915-2004), was a renowned singer and actress who starred in numerous Broadway musicals and films. Additionally, Liza Doolittle (born 1988) is a British singer-songwriter known for her unique blend of folk and pop music.
Historically, there have also been notable figures named Liza. Liza Piazzi Smyth (1847-1928) was a British astronomer and educator who made significant contributions to the field of spectroscopy. Liza Lukashevich (1878-1972) was a Russian-born American artist known for her intricate embroideries and textile designs.
People
Liza + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Liza 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
Liza: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Liza?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14,445 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Liza 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 23,728 US residents.
Is Liza a common name?
We classify Liza as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 17,526 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Liza most popular?
The single biggest year for Liza was 1973, when 518 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Liza is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Liza in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 18,277 people with the name Liza, or 6.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,691 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 Liza 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 Liza?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Liza appears almost entirely female. Of the 18,271 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Liza?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Liza is White at 47.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.5%). 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 Liza most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Liza in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.4% (8,659 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 Liza in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Liza a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Liza 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 Liza still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Liza 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 Liza 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 Liza?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.