Amayia
A unique feminine name coined from a blend of beloved names.
Name Census estimates that about 214 living Americans carry the first name Amayia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Amayia today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Amayia births was 2000 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Amayia. 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
214
~ 1 in 1,601,656 Americans
Peak year
2000
20 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2021 SSA rank
#13,576
Tracked since 1999
Census
Amayia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 192 people with the first name Amayia, which placed it at #39,369 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
#39,369
National first-name rank
People counted
192
192 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
57.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amayia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amayia is Black at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.7%) and Two or More Races (11.5%). 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 Amayia 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 Amayia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.8% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino17.7% · 34
- Two or more races11.5% · 22
- White9.4% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 3
Popularity
Amayia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Amayia from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 129 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
Amayia 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 Amayia 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 Amayia
The given name Amayia is believed to have its origins in the African American community, with the earliest known use dating back to the late 20th century. While the exact etymology is uncertain, some theories suggest that the name may be a combination of the names Amaya and Maya, both of which have roots in various cultures and languages.
One possible origin of Amayia could be the Sanskrit word "maya," which means "illusion" or "magic." This Sanskrit term has been incorporated into various languages, including Spanish and Hindi, and has given rise to names like Maya and Amaya. The name Amaya itself is derived from the Basque language and means "the end" or "night rain."
While there are no known historical references to the name Amayia in ancient texts or religious scriptures, the name's popularity has grown significantly in recent decades, particularly in the United States. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Amayia can be found in birth records from the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Throughout history, there have been a few notable individuals who have borne the name Amayia or variations of it. One such individual is Amayia Wilborn, an American ballet dancer and choreographer born in 1981, who has performed with renowned companies like the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Another notable figure is Amayia Gedde-Dako, a Ghanaian-British actress born in 1994, known for her roles in television series like "The Fugitives" and "Clique."
In the realm of literature, Amayia Shaw is an American author and poet born in 1972, who has published works such as "The Poetry of Relationship" and "Defining Love."
Another individual with the name Amayia is Amayia Hendricks, an American entrepreneur and fashion designer born in 1985, who founded the clothing line "Amayia Couture."
Lastly, Amayia Nevills is an American singer and songwriter born in 1988, who has released several albums and singles, including "Broken" and "Fearless."
It's important to note that while these are some notable individuals with the name Amayia, the origins and historical significance of the name remain relatively obscure, reflecting its relatively recent emergence and popularity.
People
Amayia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Amayia 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
Amayia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Amayia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 214 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Amayia 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 1,601,656 US residents.
Is Amayia a common name?
We classify Amayia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 217 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Amayia most popular?
The single biggest year for Amayia was 2000, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Amayia is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Amayia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 192 people with the name Amayia, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,369 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 Amayia 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 Amayia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Amayia leans strongly female. 185 people counted with this name were female (97.9%), compared with 4 male bearers (2.1%). 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 Amayia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amayia is Black at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.7%) and Two or More Races (11.5%). 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 Amayia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Amayia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.8% (111 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 Amayia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Amayia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Amayia 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 Amayia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Amayia 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 Amayia 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 Amayia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.