Camaya
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly an invented name.
Name Census estimates that about 323 living Americans carry the first name Camaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Camaya today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Camaya births was 2007 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Camaya. 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
323
~ 1 in 1,061,159 Americans
Peak year
2007
30 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,647
Tracked since 1999
Census
Camaya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 248 people with the first name Camaya, which placed it at #33,395 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
#33,395
National first-name rank
People counted
248
248 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Camaya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Camaya is Black at 81.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.7%) and White (4.0%). 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 Camaya 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 Camaya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.5% · 202
- Two or more races9.7% · 24
- White4.0% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 3
Popularity
Camaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Camaya 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 152 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
Camaya 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 Camaya 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 Camaya
The name Camaya has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that has been a prominent language in the Indian subcontinent for over three millennia. It is believed to have emerged during the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
Camaya is derived from the Sanskrit word "kama," which means desire, love, or passion. The suffix "ya" is often added to Sanskrit words to create adjectives or nouns, suggesting that Camaya could mean "the desirable one" or "the passionate one."
While the name does not appear to have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its roots in Sanskrit suggest a connection to the rich cultural and spiritual traditions of ancient India.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Camaya dates back to the 6th century CE, when a Hindu philosopher and scholar named Camaya Devi lived in the region now known as Odisha, India. She was renowned for her contributions to the study of Vedic literature and her teachings on Hindu philosophy.
Another notable figure with the name Camaya was Camaya Pandit, a 12th-century Indian mathematician and astronomer from the state of Rajasthan. He is credited with significant advancements in the field of mathematics and played a crucial role in the development of Indian astronomy.
In the 16th century, Camaya Dasi was a prominent female poet and devotee of the Hindu deity Krishna. Her poetry, which celebrated divine love and devotion, was widely acclaimed and influential in the Vaishnava literary tradition.
During the 18th century, Camaya Singh was a renowned warrior and military leader from the Rajput clan in Rajasthan. He played a pivotal role in defending his kingdom against invading forces and is celebrated for his bravery and strategic acumen.
In more recent history, Camaya Khanduri (1923-2003) was an Indian freedom fighter who actively participated in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule. She was imprisoned multiple times for her involvement in non-violent protests and civil disobedience campaigns.
The name Camaya, with its Sanskrit roots and connections to ancient Indian culture, philosophy, and spirituality, has a rich and diverse history spanning several centuries and encompassing various fields, including literature, mathematics, astronomy, military leadership, and political activism.
People
Camaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Camaya as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Camaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Camaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 323 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Camaya 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 1,061,159 US residents.
Is Camaya a common name?
We classify Camaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 326 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Camaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Camaya was 2007, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Camaya is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Camaya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 248 people with the name Camaya, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,395 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 Camaya 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 Camaya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Camaya appears almost entirely female. Of the 245 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Camaya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Camaya is Black at 81.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.7%) and White (4.0%). 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 Camaya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Camaya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.5% (202 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 Camaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Camaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Camaya 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 Camaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Camaya 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 Camaya 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 share the name Camaya?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.