Quilla
A feminine name of Quechua origin meaning "moon".
Name Census estimates that about 52 living Americans carry the first name Quilla. It is a predominantly female name (91.1% of registrations). The average person named Quilla today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Quilla births was 1917 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Quilla. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Quilla. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
52
~ 1 in 6,591,430 Americans
Peak year
1917
11 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
1955 SSA rank
#4,265
Tracked since 1902
Census
Quilla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 189 people with the first name Quilla, which placed it at #39,747 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
#39,747
National first-name rank
People counted
189
189 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
46.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quilla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Quilla is Black at 46.0%. The next largest groups are White (41.8%) and Hispanic (9.5%). 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 Quilla 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 Quilla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American46.0% · 87
- White41.8% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino9.5% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 3
- Two or more races1.1% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Quilla
Quilla leans heavily female at 91.1% of total registrations, but 16 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Quilla as a male name
- Ranked #4,265 in 1955
- 5 male births in 1955
- Peak: 1919 (6 births)
Quilla as a female name
- Ranked #10,937 in 2021
- 9 female births in 2021
- Peak: 1917 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Quilla leans strongly female. 159 people counted with this name were female (86.9%), compared with 24 male bearers (13.1%).
Popularity
Quilla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Quilla from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 46 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Quilla 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 Quilla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Quilla
The name Quilla is believed to have originated from the Quechua language, spoken by indigenous peoples of South America. It is derived from the Quechua word "killa," which means "moon" or "month." The name is thought to have been in use among the Inca civilization, which flourished in the Andean region from the 13th to the 16th century.
The Incas had a deep reverence for celestial bodies, and the moon played a significant role in their culture and mythology. It is possible that the name Quilla was given to children born under certain lunar phases or conditions, or as a way to honor the moon deity, known as Mama Quilla.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Quilla can be found in the chronicles of Spanish conquistadors who encountered the Inca Empire in the 16th century. These accounts mention Inca noblewomen and princesses bearing the name, suggesting its association with royalty and prominence.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Quilla. One of the earliest was Quilla Nusta (c. 1530), an Inca princess and daughter of the Inca ruler Atahualpa. She played a significant role in the struggle against the Spanish conquest, and her name has been preserved in historical records.
Another noteworthy figure was Quilla Túpac Yupanqui (c. 1550), an Inca nobleman and military leader who fought against the Spanish invaders. He was known for his bravery and resistance efforts in the early years of the Spanish colonization of Peru.
In the 19th century, Quilla Huaman (1820-1890) was a renowned Quechua poet and storyteller from Peru. Her works helped preserve the rich oral traditions and cultural heritage of the Andean peoples.
More recently, Quilla Napa (1932-2011) was a respected Peruvian artist and weaver, known for her vibrant textile designs that drew inspiration from Inca imagery and symbolism. Her works were celebrated for their intricate patterns and representation of indigenous Andean culture.
Quilla Constanza (born 1970) is a contemporary Bolivian writer and activist who has authored several novels and plays that explore themes of indigenous identity, social justice, and environmental conservation. Her works have received critical acclaim and have been translated into multiple languages.
People
Quilla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Quilla as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Q
Other first names starting with Q with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Quilla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Quilla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 52 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Quilla 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 6,591,430 US residents.
Is Quilla a common name?
We classify Quilla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 180 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Quilla most popular?
The single biggest year for Quilla was 1917, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Quilla is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Quilla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 189 people with the name Quilla, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,747 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 Quilla 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 Quilla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Quilla leans strongly female. 159 people counted with this name were female (86.9%), compared with 24 male bearers (13.1%). 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 Quilla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Quilla is Black at 46.0%. The next largest groups are White (41.8%) and Hispanic (9.5%). 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 Quilla most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Quilla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.0% (87 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 Quilla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Quilla a female name?
Yes, 91.1% of people registered as Quilla 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 Quilla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Quilla 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 Quilla 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 Quilla?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.