Yolanda
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "violet flower".
Name Census estimates that about 85,679 living Americans carry the first name Yolanda. It is a predominantly female name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Yolanda today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yolanda births was 1969 (3,782 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yolanda. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Yolanda with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Yolanda is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 537 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1960s, recent registration numbers for Yolanda have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
86K
~ 1 in 4,000 Americans
Peak year
1969
3,782 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1990 SSA rank
#2,591
Tracked since 1901
Census
Yolanda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 135,786 people with the first name Yolanda, which placed it at #419 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
#419
National first-name rank
People counted
136K
135,786 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
45.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
63.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yolanda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yolanda is Hispanic at 63.5%. The next largest groups are Black (25.7%) and White (6.3%). 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 Yolanda 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 Yolanda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino63.5% · 86,236
- Black or African American25.7% · 34,832
- White6.3% · 8,520
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 3,887
- Two or more races1.1% · 1,519
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 792
Gender
Gender distribution for Yolanda
Out of the 113,400 babies given the name Yolanda since 1880, 99.5% 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.
Yolanda as a male name
- Ranked #5,810 in 1990
- 9 male births in 1990
- Peak: 1968 (24 births)
Yolanda as a female name
- Ranked #2,591 in 2024
- 68 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1969 (3,771 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yolanda appears almost entirely female. Of the 135,779 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Yolanda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yolanda from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 28,565 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yolanda 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 Yolanda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yolandas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 45 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Yolanda, while Wyoming, Alaska, Idaho recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,419 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yolanda
The name Yolanda has its roots in the medieval Spanish and Portuguese languages, derived from the Germanic name Yolanda or Iolande. The name's origins can be traced back to the 5th century, when it was likely a fusion of the Germanic elements "iu" (violet flower) and "lant" (land).
In the 12th century, the name gained popularity across Europe, particularly in France and Spain. It is believed to have been introduced to the region by the Normans, who had adopted the name during their settlement in northwestern France.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yolanda can be found in the 12th-century epic poem "Chanson de Roland," which tells the story of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass during the reign of Charlemagne. In the poem, Yolanda is mentioned as a Saracen princess.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Yolanda. In the 13th century, Yolande of Burgundy (1247-1280) was a prominent figure in the Kingdom of Arles. Another notable bearer was Yolande of Aragon (1384-1442), who served as the Regent of Anjou and played a significant role in the Hundred Years' War.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained further prominence. Yolande Louise Beatrice of Savoy (1487-1499) was a member of the House of Savoy and the Duchess of Savoy from 1496 until her death. Yolande Martine Gabrielle de Polastron (1749-1793), better known as Madame de Polignac, was a prominent figure at the court of Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution.
In the 20th century, the name Yolanda was popularized by the Italian actress Yolanda Cristina Gigliotti (1920-1966), better known as Yolanda Cristina. Another notable figure was Yolanda Betbeder de Huarte (1901-1997), a Spanish composer and pianist who made significant contributions to the development of modern Spanish music.
Throughout its history, the name Yolanda has maintained its association with nobility and cultural significance, reflecting its rich heritage and diverse roots across Europe.
People
Yolanda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yolanda 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
Yolanda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yolanda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 85,679 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yolanda 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 4,000 US residents.
Is Yolanda a common name?
We classify Yolanda as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 113,400 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yolanda most popular?
The single biggest year for Yolanda was 1969, when 3,782 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yolanda is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yolanda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 135,786 people with the name Yolanda, or 44.96 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #419 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 Yolanda 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 Yolanda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yolanda appears almost entirely female. Of the 135,779 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Yolanda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yolanda is Hispanic at 63.5%. The next largest groups are Black (25.7%) and White (6.3%). 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 Yolanda most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Yolanda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.5% (86,236 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 Yolanda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yolanda a female name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Yolanda 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 Yolanda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yolanda 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 Yolanda 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 share the name Yolanda?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.