Waleska
Polish feminine form of the masculine name Walery, derived from the Latin name Valerius.
Name Census estimates that about 501 living Americans carry the first name Waleska. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Waleska today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Waleska births was 1981 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Waleska. 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
501
~ 1 in 684,140 Americans
Peak year
1981
21 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,896
Tracked since 1962
Census
Waleska in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,781 people with the first name Waleska, which placed it at #8,192 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
#8,192
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,781 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
96.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waleska
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Waleska is Hispanic at 96.1%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Waleska 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 Waleska at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.1% · 1,711
- White2.6% · 47
- Black or African American0.9% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Waleska: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Waleska from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 140 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Waleska remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Waleska 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 Waleska during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Waleskas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Waleska
The name Waleska is believed to have originated from the Polish language and culture. It is derived from the Old Polish name "Waleski," which itself comes from the Slavic root "val," meaning "to fight" or "to conquer." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to individuals who were warriors or had a strong, determined spirit.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Waleska dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in medieval Polish records and chronicles. During this time, Poland was a powerful kingdom, and the name may have been associated with nobility or military prowess.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Waleska Odrowaz (1520-1566) was a Polish noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the political and cultural affairs of the time. Her influence and legacy may have contributed to the continued use of the name in subsequent generations.
Another prominent individual with the name Waleska was Waleska Pszanska (1837-1908), a Polish-born writer and feminist activist. She was a pioneering figure in the women's rights movement and advocated for equal educational opportunities for women in Poland.
In the 19th century, the name Waleska gained some popularity in other parts of Europe, particularly in Germany and France. One notable figure from this era was Waleska von Bethusy-Huc (1828-1897), a German writer and translator who was known for her works on Polish culture and history.
Moving into the 20th century, Waleska Gorska (1890-1972) was a Polish actress and theater director who had a successful career on the stage and in silent films. She was a prominent figure in the Polish cultural scene during her lifetime.
While the name Waleska has its roots in Polish culture, it has also been adopted and used in other parts of the world, particularly in Latin American countries. However, its origins and historical significance can be traced back to its Slavic roots and the rich cultural heritage of Poland.
People
Waleska + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Waleska as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Waleska: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Waleska?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 501 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Waleska 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 684,140 US residents.
Is Waleska a common name?
We classify Waleska as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 534 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Waleska most popular?
The single biggest year for Waleska was 1981, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Waleska is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Waleska in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,781 people with the name Waleska, or 0.59 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,192 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 Waleska 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 Waleska?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Waleska appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,774 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 Waleska?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Waleska is Hispanic at 96.1%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Waleska most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Waleska in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.1% (1,711 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 Waleska in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Waleska a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Waleska 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 Waleska still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Waleska 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 Waleska 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 Waleska as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.