Aquilla
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "eagle" or "rising star".
Name Census estimates that about 625 living Americans carry the first name Aquilla. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.1% of registrations being female. The average person named Aquilla today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aquilla births was 1919 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aquilla. 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
625
~ 1 in 548,407 Americans
Peak year
1919
26 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2017 SSA rank
#12,396
Tracked since 1889
Census
Aquilla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 747 people with the first name Aquilla, which placed it at #15,407 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
#15,407
National first-name rank
People counted
747
747 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
69.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aquilla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aquilla is Black at 69.9%. The next largest groups are White (22.4%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Aquilla 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 Aquilla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American69.9% · 522
- White22.4% · 167
- Two or more races3.5% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Aquilla
Aquilla leans heavily female at 89.1% of total registrations, but 121 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Aquilla as a male name
- Ranked #12,396 in 2017
- 5 male births in 2017
- Peak: 1918 (9 births)
Aquilla as a female name
- Ranked #13,964 in 2018
- 6 female births in 2018
- Peak: 1986 (22 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aquilla leans strongly female. 603 people counted with this name were female (81.2%), compared with 140 male bearers (18.8%).
Popularity
Aquilla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aquilla from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 169 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aquilla 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 Aquilla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aquillas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Aquilla, while Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aquilla
The given name Aquilla has its origins in Latin, derived from the word "aquila," meaning "eagle." This name was prevalent in ancient Rome and the broader Roman Empire during the classical era.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Aquilla dates back to the 1st century AD, when it was borne by Aquilla Romanus, a Roman jurist and philosopher who lived during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. Aquilla Romanus is known for his contributions to the study of Roman law and his philosophical works.
Another notable historical figure with the name Aquilla was Aquilla of Sinope, a Jewish scholar who lived in the 2nd century AD. He is renowned for his Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, which became known as the Aquila of Sinope version.
In the 3rd century AD, Aquilla of Pontus was a Christian theologian and writer who composed several works on biblical interpretation and theological subjects.
During the Byzantine Empire, the name Aquilla was associated with Aquilla of Byzantium, a renowned rhetorician and grammarian who lived in the 5th century AD. He is credited with writing influential works on grammar and rhetoric.
The name Aquilla also appeared in the 6th century AD, borne by Aquilla of Arabissus, a Christian monk and theologian who played a significant role in the theological debates of his time.
While the name Aquilla has its roots in ancient Roman and Greek cultures, it has been used across various regions and time periods throughout history. Its association with the majestic eagle and its historical significance have contributed to its enduring appeal as a given name.
People
Aquilla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aquilla 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
Aquilla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aquilla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 625 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aquilla 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 548,407 US residents.
Is Aquilla a common name?
We classify Aquilla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,107 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aquilla most popular?
The single biggest year for Aquilla was 1919, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aquilla is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aquilla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 747 people with the name Aquilla, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,407 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 Aquilla 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 Aquilla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aquilla leans strongly female. 603 people counted with this name were female (81.2%), compared with 140 male bearers (18.8%). 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 Aquilla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aquilla is Black at 69.9%. The next largest groups are White (22.4%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Aquilla most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Aquilla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.9% (522 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 Aquilla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aquilla a female name?
Yes, 89.1% of people registered as Aquilla 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 Aquilla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aquilla 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 Aquilla 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 named Aquilla?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Aquilla at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.