Aquinnah
An indigenous word meaning "separated land" or "at the end of the island".
Name Census estimates that about 111 living Americans carry the first name Aquinnah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aquinnah today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aquinnah births was 2012 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aquinnah. 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
111
~ 1 in 3,087,877 Americans
Peak year
2012
9 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,463
Tracked since 1995
Popularity
Aquinnah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aquinnah 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 49 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
Aquinnah 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 Aquinnah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aquinnahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Aquinnah
The name Aquinnah is of Native American origin, specifically from the Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts. It is derived from the word "aquene," which means "separated" or "detached" in the Wampanoag language. Aquinnah is the name of a town located on the western end of Martha's Vineyard, an island off the coast of Massachusetts.
The earliest recorded use of the name Aquinnah dates back to the 17th century when the Wampanoag people inhabited the region. The town was originally known as "Gay Head" by the English settlers, but the name was officially changed to Aquinnah in 1998 to reflect its Native American heritage.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Aquinnah is Aquinnah Princekin, a Wampanoag woman who lived in the late 19th century. She was a respected leader and activist who fought for the rights of her tribe and the preservation of their land and culture.
Another notable figure is Aquinnah Bright, a Wampanoag artist and writer who was born in 1930. She is known for her paintings and sculptures that depict the traditional ways of life of her people, as well as her advocacy for Native American rights.
In the 18th century, there was a Wampanoag man named Aquinnah Quachett, who was a skilled hunter and fisherman. He played a significant role in the survival of his tribe during the harsh winters and was respected for his knowledge of the land and sea.
In the early 20th century, Aquinnah Wampano was a Wampanoag woman who was known for her skills in basket weaving and pottery. She was instrumental in preserving and passing down these traditional crafts to the younger generations of her tribe.
The name Aquinnah is also associated with the Aquinnah Cultural Center, a museum and educational facility dedicated to preserving and promoting the history and culture of the Wampanoag people. The center was established in the town of Aquinnah in the late 20th century and has become an important resource for both Native Americans and non-Native visitors.
People
Aquinnah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aquinnah 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
Aquinnah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aquinnah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 111 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aquinnah 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 3,087,877 US residents.
Is Aquinnah a common name?
We classify Aquinnah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 112 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aquinnah most popular?
The single biggest year for Aquinnah was 2012, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aquinnah is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Aquinnah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aquinnah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aquinnah 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 Aquinnah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aquinnah 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 Aquinnah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Aquinnah?
Want to know how many Americans are named Aquinnah? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.