Yessenia
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "ever-blooming flower".
Name Census estimates that about 7,215 living Americans carry the first name Yessenia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yessenia today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yessenia births was 1990 (337 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yessenia. 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
7.2K
~ 1 in 47,506 Americans
Peak year
1990
337 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
1990 SSA rank
#4,452
Tracked since 1971
Census
Yessenia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,774 people with the first name Yessenia, which placed it at #2,677 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
#2,677
National first-name rank
People counted
8.8K
8,774 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yessenia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yessenia is Hispanic at 97.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Black (0.7%). 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 Yessenia 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 Yessenia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.5% · 8,556
- White1.4% · 126
- Black or African American0.7% · 59
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 11
- Two or more races0.1% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Yessenia
Out of the 7,448 babies given the name Yessenia since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Yessenia as a male name
- Ranked #7,171 in 1990
- 7 male births in 1990
- Peak: 1990 (7 births)
Yessenia as a female name
- Ranked #4,452 in 2024
- 32 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1990 (330 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yessenia appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,776 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Yessenia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yessenia from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 2,924 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yessenia 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 Yessenia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yessenias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Yessenia, while Wisconsin, New Mexico, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 244 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yessenia
The name Yessenia has its origins in the Greek language and culture, with its earliest known appearance dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Greek word "iessein," which translates to "to heal" or "to cure." This connection suggests that the name may have initially been bestowed upon individuals believed to possess healing abilities or those associated with the medical or spiritual realms.
Over the centuries, the name Yessenia underwent various spelling variations, including Jessenia, Jesenia, and Yesenia, as it spread across different regions and cultures. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, who mentioned a woman named Yessenia in his dialogues.
In the Middle Ages, the name gained popularity among certain Christian communities, particularly in regions influenced by Greek Orthodox traditions. Several historical records from this period mention individuals bearing the name Yessenia, though their specific details and accomplishments are often lost to time.
One notable figure associated with the name Yessenia is Yessenia of Arles, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD. According to legend, she was persecuted for her faith and ultimately executed in the city of Arles, France, around the year 285 AD. Her legacy as a martyr contributed to the enduring popularity of the name among Christian communities.
Another historically significant individual named Yessenia was Yessenia Paleologina, a Byzantine princess who lived in the 14th century. She was born in 1346 and played a pivotal role in the political and diplomatic affairs of the Byzantine Empire during her lifetime.
In the realm of literature, the name Yessenia appears in several works, including the epic poem "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri. In this masterpiece, Dante mentions a character named Yessenia, though her role and significance are subject to scholarly interpretation.
During the Renaissance period, the name Yessenia gained prominence among artists and intellectuals. One such figure was Yessenia Merisi, an Italian painter born in 1595 who was renowned for her exceptional skills in portraiture and religious artwork.
Throughout history, the name Yessenia has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, artists, rulers, and religious figures. While its popularity has fluctuated across different eras and regions, the name's enduring presence serves as a testament to its rich historical and cultural significance.
People
Yessenia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yessenia 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
Yessenia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yessenia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,215 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yessenia 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 47,506 US residents.
Is Yessenia a common name?
We classify Yessenia as "Rare". It ranks above 97.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,448 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yessenia most popular?
The single biggest year for Yessenia was 1990, when 337 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yessenia is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yessenia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,774 people with the name Yessenia, or 2.91 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,677 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 Yessenia 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 Yessenia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yessenia appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,776 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Yessenia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yessenia is Hispanic at 97.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Black (0.7%). 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 Yessenia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Yessenia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.5% (8,556 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 Yessenia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yessenia a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Yessenia 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 Yessenia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yessenia 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 Yessenia 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 Yessenia?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Yessenia at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.