Pecola
An invented name potentially derived from the Spanish "pecoso" meaning freckled.
Name Census estimates that about 179 living Americans carry the first name Pecola. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pecola today is around 72 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pecola births was 1920 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pecola. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Pecola is about 72 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Pecolas were born before 1964.
People living today
179
~ 1 in 1,914,829 Americans
Peak year
1920
28 babies that year
Average age
72
years old
1987 SSA rank
#12,675
Tracked since 1900
Census
Pecola in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 265 people with the first name Pecola, which placed it at #32,010 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
#32,010
National first-name rank
People counted
265
265 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pecola
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pecola is Black at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and White (1.5%). 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 Pecola 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 Pecola at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.0% · 249
- Two or more races3.4% · 9
- White1.5% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Pecola: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pecola from the 1900s through to the 1980s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 201 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
Pecola 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 Pecola during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pecolas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Pecola, while Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pecola
The given name Pecola has its origins in the Yao language, spoken by the Yao people of southern China and parts of Southeast Asia. The name is derived from the word "pekola," which means "little bird" or "sparrow" in the Yao language. This name was initially given to children born in the spring, symbolizing the arrival of new life and the singing of birds.
In the 12th century, the Yao people migrated from southern China to various parts of Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. As they settled in these regions, the name Pecola gained popularity among the Yao communities and eventually spread to other ethnic groups in the areas.
The earliest recorded use of the name Pecola can be found in ancient Yao folklore and oral traditions. These stories often featured characters with this name, depicting them as gentle and kind-hearted individuals who had a deep connection with nature.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Pecola was a Yao woman who lived in the 14th century. She was renowned for her skills as a healer and her knowledge of traditional Yao medicinal practices. Unfortunately, historical records do not provide her exact dates of birth and death.
In the 16th century, a Yao poet named Pecola gained recognition for her beautiful and evocative verses celebrating the natural world. Her poems were widely circulated and appreciated by scholars and literary enthusiasts of the time.
During the 18th century, a Yao woman named Pecola became a respected leader in her community. She was known for her wisdom, diplomacy, and her efforts to maintain peace and harmony among the Yao tribes.
In the 19th century, a Yao artist named Pecola gained fame for her intricate and colorful textile designs. Her works were highly sought after and helped to preserve and promote the traditional Yao weaving techniques.
As the Yao people migrated to different parts of the world, the name Pecola also found its way into other cultures and languages. While it may have evolved in spelling or pronunciation, the underlying meaning and connection to nature often remained intact.
People
Pecola + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pecola as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pecola: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pecola?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 179 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pecola 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 1,914,829 US residents.
Is Pecola a common name?
We classify Pecola as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 788 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pecola most popular?
The single biggest year for Pecola was 1920, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pecola is about 72 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pecola in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 265 people with the name Pecola, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,010 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 Pecola 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 Pecola?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pecola appears almost entirely female. Of the 265 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 Pecola?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pecola is Black at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and White (1.5%). 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 Pecola most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Pecola in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (249 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 Pecola in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pecola a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pecola 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 Pecola still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pecola 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 Pecola 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 Pecola?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.