Africa
A feminine name derived from the Latin word for the continent.
Name Census estimates that about 973 living Americans carry the first name Africa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Africa today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Africa births was 1972 (76 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Africa. 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 Africa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
973
~ 1 in 352,266 Americans
Peak year
1972
76 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,287
Tracked since 1969
Census
Africa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,017 people with the first name Africa, which placed it at #12,287 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
#12,287
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,017 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
57.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Africa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Africa is Black at 57.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (34.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.9%). 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 Africa 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 Africa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.2% · 582
- Hispanic or Latino34.0% · 346
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.9% · 50
- Two or more races2.1% · 21
- White1.5% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
Popularity
Africa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Africa from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 441 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Africa 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 Africa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Africas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Georgia, Illinois, California recorded the most babies named Africa, while New York, Louisiana, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Africa
The name Africa is a relatively modern invention, rooted in the ancient Greek word "Aphrike," which referred to the regions now known as Libya and Tunisia. The word "Aphrike" is believed to have originated from the ancient Egyptian word "af-rui-ka," meaning "to turn toward the opening of the Ka soul." This suggests a spiritual or metaphysical connection to the African continent.
While the name Africa was not commonly used as a personal name in ancient times, it did appear in some historical records and texts. One notable reference is in the writings of Roman philosopher and historian Pliny the Elder, who lived from 23-79 AD. In his work "Naturalis Historia," he referred to the region as "Africa terra," or the land of Africa.
The earliest recorded use of Africa as a personal name dates back to the 18th century. One of the earliest known individuals with the name was Africa Zamba, a former slave from West Africa who lived in the American colonies in the 1700s. Another notable figure was Africa Albino Millin, a French archaeologist and author born in 1759, who wrote extensively about ancient Roman and Greek cultures.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the name Africa gained popularity as a symbol of pride and cultural identity, particularly among African Americans. One famous individual with the name was Africa Bambaataa, an influential hip-hop pioneer born in 1957, who helped establish the Universal Zulu Nation and popularized the socially conscious and Afrocentric themes in hip-hop music.
Other notable individuals with the name Africa include:
1. Africa Wayne Brady (born 1972), an American actor, comedian, and singer best known for his work on the improvisational comedy show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
2. Africa Sebastian (born 1970), an American singer and songwriter who had a hit song with "Dancin' on the Ceiling" in the late 1980s.
3. Africa Menelik Govze (born 1987), a professional basketball player from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who has played in various European leagues.
4. Africa Muñoz (born 1965), a Mexican actress and singer known for her work in telenovelas and films.
5. Africa Ivy (born 1978), an American artist and painter whose work often explores themes of identity and cultural heritage.
While not a common name, Africa has gained recognition as a unique and meaningful choice, reflecting a connection to the rich history and cultures of the African continent.
People
Africa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Africa 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
Africa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Africa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 973 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Africa 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 352,266 US residents.
Is Africa a common name?
We classify Africa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,034 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Africa most popular?
The single biggest year for Africa was 1972, when 76 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Africa is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Africa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,017 people with the name Africa, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,287 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 Africa 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 Africa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Africa leans strongly female. 985 people counted with this name were female (96.8%), compared with 33 male bearers (3.2%). 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 Africa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Africa is Black at 57.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (34.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.9%). 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 Africa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Africa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.2% (582 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 Africa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Africa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Africa 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 Africa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Africa 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 Africa 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 are called Africa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.