Ayo
Joy, derived from the Yoruba word "ayọ" meaning "joy comes home."
Name Census estimates that about 226 living Americans carry the first name Ayo. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 66.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Ayo today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ayo births was 2021 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ayo. 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 Ayo with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
226
~ 1 in 1,516,612 Americans
Peak year
2021
17 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,360
Tracked since 1972
Census
Ayo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 701 people with the first name Ayo, which placed it at #16,182 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
#16,182
National first-name rank
People counted
701
701 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ayo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ayo is Black at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.0%) and White (3.1%). 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 Ayo 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 Ayo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.2% · 604
- Two or more races6.0% · 42
- White3.1% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Ayo
Ayo is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 234 total registrations, 155 (66.2%) were male and 79 (33.8%) were female.
Ayo as a male name
- Ranked #8,360 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (12 births)
Ayo as a female name
- Ranked #15,589 in 2021
- 5 female births in 2021
- Peak: 1982 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ayo on both sides of the split. Of the 700 people counted with this name, 427 were male (61.0%) and 273 were female (39.0%).
Popularity
Ayo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ayo from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 57 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ayo 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 Ayo 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 Ayo
The name Ayo has its origins in the Yoruba language of West Africa, particularly Nigeria. It is a gender-neutral name that means "joy" or "happiness." The name has been in use for centuries, and its roots can be traced back to the ancient Yoruba culture and traditions.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Ayo can be found in the Odu Ifa, a sacred literary corpus of the Yoruba people. The Odu Ifa contains various stories, proverbs, and teachings that have been passed down through generations. In these texts, Ayo is often mentioned as a symbol of joy, celebration, and positivity.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ayo. One of the earliest recorded figures was Ayo Ajayi (c. 1880-1958), a prominent Nigerian educator and writer who played a significant role in promoting Yoruba culture and language. Another notable figure was Ayo Rosiji (1882-1949), a Yoruba chief and politician who served as the Olubadan (traditional ruler) of Ibadan from 1930 to 1949.
In more recent times, the name Ayo has gained popularity beyond its traditional Yoruba roots. Ayo Bankole (born 1974) is a Nigerian-American actress and producer known for her roles in films such as "The Sopranos" and "Watchmen." Ayo Gorkhali (born 1979) is a Nepali singer and songwriter who has achieved significant success in the Nepali music industry.
Additionally, the name Ayo has been embraced by various literary and artistic figures. Ayo Akinfe (born 1962) is a Nigerian-British writer and journalist who has authored several books on African history and culture. Ayo Akingbade (born 1984) is a British filmmaker and director known for her work in promoting diversity and representation in the film industry.
While the name Ayo may have originated from a specific cultural context, its meaning and significance have transcended borders and cultures. It continues to be a popular choice for parents seeking a name that embodies joy, happiness, and positivity, regardless of their cultural background.
People
Ayo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ayo 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
Ayo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ayo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 226 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ayo 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 1,516,612 US residents.
Is Ayo a common name?
We classify Ayo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 234 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ayo most popular?
The single biggest year for Ayo was 2021, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ayo is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ayo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 701 people with the name Ayo, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,182 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 Ayo 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 Ayo?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Ayo on both sides of the split. Of the 700 people counted with this name, 427 were male (61.0%) and 273 were female (39.0%). 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 Ayo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ayo is Black at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.0%) and White (3.1%). 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 Ayo most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ayo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.2% (604 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 Ayo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ayo a male name?
Yes, 66.2% of people registered as Ayo 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 Ayo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ayo 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 Ayo 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 Americans are named Ayo?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Ayo at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.