Yandel
A name of Latin origin perhaps derived from Alexander.
Name Census estimates that about 3,668 living Americans carry the first name Yandel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yandel today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yandel births was 2009 (511 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yandel. 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
- • Yandel is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.7K
~ 1 in 93,444 Americans
Peak year
2009
511 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,317
Tracked since 2001
Census
Yandel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,801 people with the first name Yandel, which placed it at #5,907 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
#5,907
National first-name rank
People counted
2.8K
2,801 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
96.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yandel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yandel is Hispanic at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Black (0.5%). 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 Yandel 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 Yandel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.5% · 2,704
- White2.6% · 74
- Black or African American0.5% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
- Two or more races0.1% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Yandel
Out of the 3,702 babies given the name Yandel since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Yandel as a male name
- Ranked #3,317 in 2024
- 36 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (511 births)
Yandel as a female name
- Ranked #12,386 in 2006
- 9 female births in 2006
- Peak: 2006 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yandel leans strongly male. 2,750 people counted with this name were male (98.1%), compared with 52 female bearers (1.9%).
Popularity
Yandel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yandel from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,866 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yandel 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 Yandel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yandels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Yandel, while South Carolina, Minnesota, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 88 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yandel
The name Yandel is believed to have its origins in the Zapotec language, an indigenous linguistic group from the southwestern region of Mexico. The Zapotec civilization flourished in the region of Oaxaca, with evidence of their settlements dating back to around 500 BCE.
While the precise etymology of Yandel is uncertain, some scholars suggest it may derive from the Zapotec word "yaa," meaning "tree" or "plant." Others propose a connection to the word "ndel," which translates to "mountain" or "hill." This linguistic connection could indicate that Yandel had significant ties to the natural landscape and environment of the ancient Zapotec lands.
Historical records documenting the use of Yandel as a personal name are scarce, as many indigenous names from pre-Columbian civilizations were lost or altered during the Spanish conquest and subsequent colonial era. However, there are a few notable individuals throughout history who bore this name or variations of it.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yandel can be found in the annals of the Zapotec ruler Yandelnuñu, who reigned over the city-state of Zaachila in the late 14th century. This ruler was known for his military prowess and for expanding the territorial boundaries of his kingdom.
In the 16th century, a Zapotec nobleman named Yandel Cocijo was documented as a prominent figure in the resistance against Spanish colonization. He played a key role in organizing uprisings and defending the autonomy of his people's lands and traditions.
During the Mexican Revolution of the early 20th century, a revolutionary soldier named Yandel Guzmán fought alongside the forces of Emiliano Zapata in the southern region of Mexico. Guzmán was celebrated for his bravery and unwavering commitment to the revolutionary cause.
In the realm of art and culture, a renowned Zapotec painter and muralist named Yandel Aguilar (1925-2005) gained recognition for his vibrant depictions of indigenous life and traditions. His works were widely exhibited and celebrated for preserving the rich cultural heritage of his people.
Another notable figure was Yandel Huerta (1934-2018), a prominent Zapotec linguist and scholar who dedicated his life to preserving and promoting the Zapotec language. His contributions to documenting and revitalizing this linguistic tradition were instrumental in safeguarding the cultural legacy of the Zapotec people.
While the name Yandel may have ancient roots, its enduring presence throughout history reflects the resilience and cultural richness of the Zapotec civilization, serving as a reminder of the remarkable diversity and heritage of indigenous communities in Mexico.
People
Yandel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yandel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yandel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yandel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,668 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yandel 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 93,444 US residents.
Is Yandel a common name?
We classify Yandel as "Rare". It ranks above 95.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,702 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yandel most popular?
The single biggest year for Yandel was 2009, when 511 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yandel is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yandel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,801 people with the name Yandel, or 0.93 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,907 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 Yandel 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 Yandel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yandel leans strongly male. 2,750 people counted with this name were male (98.1%), compared with 52 female bearers (1.9%). 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 Yandel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yandel is Hispanic at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Black (0.5%). 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 Yandel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Yandel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (2,704 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 Yandel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yandel a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Yandel in the SSA data are male. 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 Yandel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yandel 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 Yandel 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 Yandel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Yandel at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.