Adjoa
A feminine name of Akan origin meaning "born on Monday".
Name Census estimates that about 96 living Americans carry the first name Adjoa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Adjoa today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Adjoa births was 2007 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Adjoa. 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 Adjoa with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Adjoa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
96
~ 1 in 3,570,358 Americans
Peak year
2007
9 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2015 SSA rank
#16,479
Tracked since 1981
Census
Adjoa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 346 people with the first name Adjoa, which placed it at #26,749 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
#26,749
National first-name rank
People counted
346
346 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adjoa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adjoa is Black at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and White (2.3%). 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 Adjoa 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 Adjoa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.9% · 318
- Two or more races2.9% · 10
- White2.3% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 3
Popularity
Adjoa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Adjoa from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 43 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Adjoa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Adjoa 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 Adjoa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Adjoa
The given name Adjoa originates from the Akan people of West Africa, specifically from the Twi language spoken in Ghana. The name is believed to have roots dating back to the 13th century during the era of the ancient Ashanti Empire.
Adjoa is derived from the Akan word "adjua," which means "born on Monday." In the Akan tradition, each day of the week is associated with a specific name, reflecting the belief that a person's character and destiny are influenced by the day they were born.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Adjoa can be found in the oral histories and folktales of the Ashanti people, where it is often used to refer to female characters or storytellers. These tales were passed down through generations, preserving the cultural significance of the name.
In the 17th century, during the era of European exploration and colonization of West Africa, the name Adjoa was documented by Portuguese and Dutch traders who encountered the Akan people. It appeared in various travel logs and accounts, providing insights into the cultural practices and naming traditions of the region.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Adjoa. One of the earliest recorded was Adjoa Kuruwa (c. 1640-1700), a powerful merchant and diplomat from the Ashanti Empire, who played a crucial role in facilitating trade relations between the Ashanti and European nations.
Another prominent figure was Adjoa Nkomah (c. 1780-1860), a revered priestess and spiritual leader among the Akan people, known for her wisdom and influence in religious and cultural matters.
In the 20th century, Adjoa Andoh (1922-2008) was a Ghanaian educator and activist who fought for women's rights and educational opportunities in her country. She was recognized for her contributions to promoting gender equality and empowering young girls.
Adjoa Samsu (1930-2014) was a renowned Ghanaian writer and playwright, whose works explored themes of cultural identity, tradition, and the experiences of women in West African societies.
Adjoa Akyaawa Badoe (born 1959) is a contemporary Ghanaian writer and filmmaker, known for her award-winning novels and documentaries that celebrate African culture and storytelling traditions.
While the name Adjoa has its roots in the Akan culture, it has gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly among diaspora communities and those with African heritage. However, its historical significance and cultural connections remain deeply rooted in the traditions of the Akan people of West Africa.
People
Adjoa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Adjoa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Adjoa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Adjoa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 96 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Adjoa 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 3,570,358 US residents.
Is Adjoa a common name?
We classify Adjoa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 98 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Adjoa most popular?
The single biggest year for Adjoa was 2007, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Adjoa is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Adjoa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 346 people with the name Adjoa, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,749 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 Adjoa 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 Adjoa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Adjoa appears almost entirely female. Of the 341 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 Adjoa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adjoa is Black at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and White (2.3%). 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 Adjoa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Adjoa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (318 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 Adjoa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Adjoa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Adjoa 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 Adjoa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Adjoa 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 Adjoa 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 Americans are named Adjoa?
See how many Americans are named Adjoa on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.