Ayva
A feminine Turkish name meaning "fruit of the quince tree".
Name Census estimates that about 3,719 living Americans carry the first name Ayva. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ayva today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ayva births was 2014 (280 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ayva. 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 Ayva with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Ayva is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.7K
~ 1 in 92,163 Americans
Peak year
2014
280 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,190
Tracked since 2000
Census
Ayva in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,566 people with the first name Ayva, which placed it at #6,284 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
#6,284
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,566 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ayva
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ayva is White at 48.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.1%) and Black (13.5%). 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 Ayva 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 Ayva at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.5% · 1,244
- Hispanic or Latino23.1% · 593
- Black or African American13.5% · 346
- Two or more races9.5% · 245
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.6% · 119
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 19
Popularity
Ayva: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ayva from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,230 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ayva remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ayva 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 Ayva during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ayvas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 35 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Ayva, while New Hampshire, Connecticut, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 73 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ayva
The name Ayva is believed to have originated from the Turkish language, derived from the word "ayva," which means "quince," a type of fruit. This name was primarily used in Turkey and surrounding regions during the medieval period.
The earliest recorded usage of the name Ayva can be traced back to the 13th century, where it was mentioned in Ottoman court records and historical texts. It was a relatively uncommon name during this time period but held significant cultural significance for those who bore it.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Ayva was Ayva Hatun, a renowned Ottoman calligrapher who lived in the 15th century. Her intricate and beautiful calligraphic works are still preserved in various museums and collections around the world.
In the 16th century, Ayva Sultana, a Ottoman princess and the daughter of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, was also a notable figure with this name. She was known for her charitable works and her support of the arts and literature during her lifetime.
Another historical figure named Ayva was Ayva Khanum, a Persian poet and writer who lived in the 17th century. Her poetry collections and literary works were highly regarded and celebrated in the Persian-speaking world during her time.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Ayva Efendi was a Turkish scholar and educator who made significant contributions to the field of education in the Ottoman Empire. She was known for her progressive ideas and her efforts to promote education for women.
In the 20th century, Ayva Erzan was a prominent Turkish artist and sculptor. Her works were exhibited in various galleries and museums, and she was recognized for her unique style and artistic vision.
While the name Ayva was more common in Turkey and the surrounding regions, it has also been used occasionally in other cultures and languages over time, although it remains relatively rare outside of its place of origin.
People
Ayva + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ayva 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
Ayva: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ayva?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,719 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ayva 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 92,163 US residents.
Is Ayva a common name?
We classify Ayva as "Rare". It ranks above 95.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,750 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ayva most popular?
The single biggest year for Ayva was 2014, when 280 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ayva is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ayva in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,566 people with the name Ayva, or 0.85 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,284 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 Ayva 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 Ayva?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ayva appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,564 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Ayva?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ayva is White at 48.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.1%) and Black (13.5%). 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 Ayva most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ayva in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.5% (1,244 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 Ayva in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ayva a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ayva 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 Ayva still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ayva 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 Ayva 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 Ayva?
See how many Americans are named Ayva on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.