Asa
A Hebrew name meaning "healer" or "physician".
Name Census estimates that about 18,220 living Americans carry the first name Asa. It sits at #474 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (91.8% of registrations). The average person named Asa today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Asa births was 2022 (775 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Asa. 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 Asa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
18K
~ 1 in 18,812 Americans
Peak year
2022
775 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#474
Tracked since 1880
Census
Asa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 14,130 people with the first name Asa, which placed it at #1,966 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
#1,966
National first-name rank
People counted
14K
14,130 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Asa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Asa is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Asa 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 Asa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.6% · 9,270
- Black or African American15.7% · 2,220
- Two or more races8.1% · 1,144
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 930
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 362
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 204
Gender
Gender distribution for Asa
Asa leans heavily male at 91.8% of total registrations, but 1,825 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Asa as a male name
- Ranked #474 in 2024
- 645 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (683 births)
Asa as a female name
- Ranked #2,402 in 2024
- 75 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (94 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Asa leans strongly male. 12,565 people counted with this name were male (88.9%), compared with 1,561 female bearers (11.1%).
Popularity
Asa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Asa from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5,789 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Asa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Asa 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 Asa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Asas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 45 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Asa, while Montana, Hawaii, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 315 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Asa
The name Asa originates from the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to biblical times. It is derived from the Hebrew word 'asah,' which means 'healer' or 'physician.' The name has been in use for centuries, and its earliest known reference can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Asa was Asa, the third king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. He reigned from approximately 913 BC to 873 BC and is remembered for his efforts to promote religious reforms and eliminate idolatry from his kingdom. His reign is documented in the Books of Kings and Chronicles in the Hebrew Bible.
Another famous individual named Asa was Asa Gray, an American botanist who lived from 1810 to 1888. He is considered one of the most important botanists of the 19th century and is known for his significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and classification. Gray's Manual, a book he authored, became a standard reference for identifying plants in North America.
In the 17th century, Asa Crittenden (1637-1711) was a prominent figure in colonial America. He was a military officer and a member of the Massachusetts General Court, serving as a representative for the town of Ipswich. Crittenden played a significant role in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Asa Griggs Candler (1851-1929) was an American businessman and the founder of the Coca-Cola Company. He acquired the complete ownership of the company in 1892 and played a crucial role in its growth and success, transforming it into a global brand.
Asa Hutchinson (born 1950) is an American politician who served as the 46th governor of Arkansas from 2015 to 2023. Prior to his governorship, he held various positions, including serving as a U.S. Representative and as the first Undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security at the Department of Homeland Security.
While the name Asa has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, it has been adopted and used across various cultures and societies throughout history, with each individual bearing the name contributing to its rich legacy and significance.
People
Asa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Asa 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
Asa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Asa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18,220 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Asa 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 18,812 US residents.
Is Asa a common name?
We classify Asa as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22,359 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Asa most popular?
The single biggest year for Asa was 2022, when 775 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Asa is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Asa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 14,130 people with the name Asa, or 4.68 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,966 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 Asa 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 Asa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Asa leans strongly male. 12,565 people counted with this name were male (88.9%), compared with 1,561 female bearers (11.1%). 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 Asa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Asa is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Asa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Asa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.6% (9,270 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 Asa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Asa a male name?
Yes, 91.8% of people registered as Asa in the SSA data are male. 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 Asa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Asa 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 Asa 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 Asa?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Asa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.