Lowanda
A feminine name possibly derived from a French surname meaning "wanderer or traveler".
Name Census estimates that about 299 living Americans carry the first name Lowanda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lowanda today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lowanda births was 1971 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lowanda. 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
299
~ 1 in 1,146,336 Americans
Peak year
1971
20 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1981 SSA rank
#9,825
Tracked since 1920
Census
Lowanda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 287 people with the first name Lowanda, which placed it at #30,385 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
#30,385
National first-name rank
People counted
287
287 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
68.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lowanda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lowanda is Black at 68.6%. The next largest groups are White (26.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Lowanda 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 Lowanda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American68.6% · 197
- White26.8% · 77
- Two or more races2.4% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Lowanda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lowanda from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 128 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
Lowanda 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 Lowanda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lowandas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lowanda
The name Lowanda is believed to have its origins in the Choctaw language, spoken by the Choctaw people indigenous to the Southeastern United States. The name is thought to be derived from the Choctaw words "lowa," meaning "to watch" or "to guard," and "anda," meaning "among." Thus, the name Lowanda may have initially referred to a guardian or protector among the Choctaw people.
The earliest recorded use of the name Lowanda dates back to the late 18th century, when it appeared in records of the Choctaw Nation in what is now the state of Mississippi. During this time, the Choctaw people were engaged in complex negotiations and conflicts with European settlers and the emerging United States government over land rights and sovereignty.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Lowanda was a Choctaw woman born around 1780. She was a respected member of her community and played a role in preserving Choctaw culture and traditions during a period of upheaval and displacement for her people.
In the 19th century, the name Lowanda gained some recognition beyond the Choctaw Nation. Lowanda Polk (1832-1905) was a Choctaw educator and activist who worked to establish schools and advocate for the rights of Native American children. Her efforts helped pave the way for the development of the modern Choctaw Nation school system.
Another notable figure was Lowanda Cuolee (1856-1948), a Choctaw artist and craftsperson renowned for her intricate beadwork and textile designs. Her creations were exhibited at several world's fairs and helped promote awareness of Choctaw cultural traditions.
In the early 20th century, Lowanda Frye (1902-1987) was a Choctaw writer and journalist who documented the history and experiences of her people through her published works. Her writing helped preserve valuable narratives and perspectives on Choctaw life during a time of rapid social change.
More recently, Lowanda Ingram (1944-2022) was a respected Choctaw elder and language preservationist. She dedicated her life to teaching and promoting the Choctaw language, ensuring its survival and transmission to younger generations.
Although not as widely used today as it once was among the Choctaw people, the name Lowanda stands as a testament to the rich cultural heritage and resilience of the Choctaw Nation. Its meaning and history reflect the importance of guardianship, protection, and the preservation of traditions in the face of adversity.
People
Lowanda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lowanda 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
Lowanda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lowanda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 299 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lowanda 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 1,146,336 US residents.
Is Lowanda a common name?
We classify Lowanda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 457 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lowanda most popular?
The single biggest year for Lowanda was 1971, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lowanda is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lowanda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 287 people with the name Lowanda, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,385 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 Lowanda 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 Lowanda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lowanda appears almost entirely female. Of the 288 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 Lowanda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lowanda is Black at 68.6%. The next largest groups are White (26.8%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Lowanda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lowanda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.6% (197 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 Lowanda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lowanda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lowanda 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 Lowanda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lowanda 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 Lowanda 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 Lowanda?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.