Waunita
The Mandan-Hidatsa language Native American name meaning "orphan girl".
Name Census estimates that about 150 living Americans carry the first name Waunita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Waunita today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Waunita births was 1924 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Waunita. 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 Waunita is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Waunitas were born before 1958.
People living today
150
~ 1 in 2,285,029 Americans
Peak year
1924
35 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1971 SSA rank
#8,298
Tracked since 1904
Census
Waunita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 290 people with the first name Waunita, which placed it at #30,183 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
#30,183
National first-name rank
People counted
290
290 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waunita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Waunita is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) 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 Waunita 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 Waunita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.3% · 256
- Black or African American5.9% · 17
- Two or more races2.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 2
Popularity
Waunita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Waunita from the 1900s through to the 1970s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 281 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
Waunita 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 Waunita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Waunitas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Kansas, Missouri, Indiana recorded the most babies named Waunita, while West Virginia, Illinois, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Waunita
The name Waunita is believed to have originated from the Oto language, which is a Siouan language spoken by the Oto tribe of Native Americans. The Oto people historically lived in what is now the states of Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The name Waunita is thought to be derived from the Oto word "wa'u" which means "woman" or "female".
While the exact origin of the name is not entirely clear, it is believed to have been in use among the Oto tribe for centuries before it was adopted by English speakers. The earliest recorded example of the name Waunita dates back to the late 19th century, when it began to appear in historical records and documents related to the Oto tribe.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the name Waunita was Waunita Kracaw, an Oto woman who lived in the late 19th century. Kracaw was known for her involvement in preserving the Oto language and cultural traditions.
Throughout the 20th century, the name Waunita gained popularity among English speakers, particularly in the United States. Several notable individuals have borne the name Waunita, including Waunita Walden (1913-1991), an American actress and dancer who appeared in several Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s.
Another famous Waunita was Waunita Woodring (1917-2010), an American artist and sculptor known for her abstract works. Woodring's sculptures can be found in various museums and public spaces across the United States.
In the field of literature, Waunita Sinclair (1910-1997) was a renowned American poet and writer whose works explored themes of nature, spirituality, and Native American culture. Sinclair's poetry collections, such as "The Singing Bone" and "The Sun's Rising," received critical acclaim and helped bring attention to the Oto language and traditions.
Waunita St. Cyr (1925-2004) was a prominent activist and advocate for Native American rights. She worked tirelessly to preserve the cultural heritage and traditions of the Oto tribe, and played a significant role in the establishment of the Oto-Missouri Tribal Museum.
Lastly, Waunita Martineau (1932-2018) was a celebrated artist and craftsperson from the Oto tribe. She was widely recognized for her intricate beadwork and traditional Oto designs, which she incorporated into various artworks and clothing items.
People
Waunita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Waunita 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
Waunita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Waunita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 150 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Waunita 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 2,285,029 US residents.
Is Waunita a common name?
We classify Waunita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 865 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Waunita most popular?
The single biggest year for Waunita was 1924, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Waunita is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Waunita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 290 people with the name Waunita, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,183 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 Waunita 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 Waunita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Waunita appears almost entirely female. Of the 286 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 Waunita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Waunita is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) 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 Waunita most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Waunita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (256 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 Waunita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Waunita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Waunita 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 Waunita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Waunita 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 Waunita 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 Waunita as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Waunita, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.