Ayvah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "miracle" or "marvelous".
Name Census estimates that about 1,780 living Americans carry the first name Ayvah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ayvah today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ayvah births was 2019 (150 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ayvah. 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 Ayvah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Ayvah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 192,559 Americans
Peak year
2019
150 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,967
Tracked since 2004
Census
Ayvah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,031 people with the first name Ayvah, which placed it at #12,175 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
#12,175
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,031 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
35.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ayvah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ayvah is White at 35.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.0%) and Black (22.3%). 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 Ayvah 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 Ayvah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White35.3% · 364
- Hispanic or Latino27.0% · 278
- Black or African American22.3% · 230
- Two or more races10.7% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 12
Popularity
Ayvah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ayvah 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 1,169 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ayvah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ayvah 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 Ayvah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ayvahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Ayvah, while West Virginia, Wisconsin, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ayvah
The name Ayvah is relatively obscure and its origins are shrouded in mystery. Some linguists trace its roots back to the ancient Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia, where it may have been derived from the word "ayu," meaning "life" or "to live." However, concrete evidence of its use in Sumerian texts is scarce.
Others speculate that Ayvah might have originated from the Sanskrit language, with possible connections to the word "ayva," signifying "peaceful" or "tranquil." This theory gains credence from the fact that many ancient Indian names were inspired by nature, emotions, or virtuous qualities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ayvah can be found in the writings of the 9th-century Persian scholar and poet, Abu Tammam. In his anthology of poetry, he briefly mentions a woman named Ayvah, although little is known about her background or significance.
The first notable historical figure with the name Ayvah was Ayvah al-Sufi, an influential Persian astronomer born in 903 AD. He is renowned for his pioneering work in the field of celestial cartography, including the creation of the "Book of Fixed Stars," a comprehensive catalogue of stars and their positions.
Another prominent individual bearing the name was Ayvah al-Qurashi, a 12th-century Andalusian poet and scholar from Seville, Spain. He gained recognition for his contributions to Arabic literature and his expertise in various disciplines, including linguistics and theology.
In the 15th century, Ayvah Bint Abdallah al-Baghdadi, an Iraqi calligrapher and artist, left a lasting impact on the art of Arabic calligraphy. Her intricate works, often adorned with intricate floral patterns, were highly prized and collected by nobility and scholars alike.
Another notable figure was Ayvah Khan, a 17th-century Mughal military commander and governor of the province of Kabul. He played a crucial role in the expansion and consolidation of the Mughal Empire's territories during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb.
While the name Ayvah has a rich and intriguing history, its usage has remained relatively rare throughout the centuries. Its obscurity adds to its mystique and allure, making it a unique and distinctive choice for those seeking a name with a touch of mystery and cultural depth.
People
Ayvah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ayvah 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
Ayvah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ayvah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,780 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ayvah 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 192,559 US residents.
Is Ayvah a common name?
We classify Ayvah as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,793 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ayvah most popular?
The single biggest year for Ayvah was 2019, when 150 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ayvah is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ayvah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,031 people with the name Ayvah, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,175 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 Ayvah 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 Ayvah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ayvah appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,036 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Ayvah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ayvah is White at 35.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.0%) and Black (22.3%). 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 Ayvah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ayvah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.3% (364 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 Ayvah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ayvah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ayvah 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 Ayvah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ayvah 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 Ayvah 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 Ayvah?
Find out how many people share the name Ayvah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.