Camela
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "camel flower" or "apple blossom".
Name Census estimates that about 680 living Americans carry the first name Camela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Camela today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Camela births was 1963 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Camela. 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
680
~ 1 in 504,050 Americans
Peak year
1963
43 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,919
Tracked since 1914
Census
Camela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 976 people with the first name Camela, which placed it at #12,669 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
#12,669
National first-name rank
People counted
976
976 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Camela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Camela is White at 48.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.1%) and Black (18.3%). 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 Camela 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 Camela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.0% · 468
- Hispanic or Latino24.1% · 235
- Black or African American18.3% · 179
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 57
- Two or more races2.4% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 14
Popularity
Camela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Camela from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 288 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Camela 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 Camela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Camelas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, North Carolina, Illinois recorded the most babies named Camela, while Indiana, Illinois, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Camela
The name Camela is thought to originate from the Latin word "camellus," which means "camel." This suggests that the name has its roots in the ancient Roman civilization, dating back to the Roman Republic and Empire periods between the 6th century BC and the 5th century AD. While the exact origin of the name is unclear, it is believed to have been initially used as a surname or a nickname for people who worked with camels or traded in camel-related goods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Camela can be found in ancient Roman inscriptions and records. A notable example is Camela Maxima, a Roman woman mentioned in an inscription from the 2nd century AD, who was likely a member of the elite class or a prominent family during that time.
In the Middle Ages, the name Camela was relatively rare, but it did appear occasionally in various regions of Europe. One notable individual was Camela of Burgundy, a 9th-century noblewoman and the wife of King Louis the Stammerer of West Francia (now part of modern-day France). She played a significant role in the political affairs of the Carolingian dynasty.
During the Renaissance period, the name Camela gained some popularity, particularly in Italy. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Camela Rosalba, an Italian painter born in 1675 in Venice. She was renowned for her exquisite pastel portraits and became one of the most celebrated female artists of her time.
In the 18th century, Camela Panzacchi, an Italian poet and writer, made significant contributions to the literary world. Born in 1735 in Bologna, she was part of the Accademia dell'Arcadia, a prestigious literary academy, and her works were widely acclaimed during her lifetime.
Another notable figure was Camela Poli, an Italian actress born in 1800 in Turin. She was a leading figure in the Italian theatre scene of the 19th century and performed in many renowned productions across Europe.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples highlight the presence of the name Camela throughout various periods of history and across different regions, particularly in Europe and Italy. Despite its relative rarity, the name has endured and continues to be used today, carrying with it a unique cultural heritage and historical significance.
People
Camela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Camela 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
Camela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Camela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 680 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Camela 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 504,050 US residents.
Is Camela a common name?
We classify Camela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 796 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Camela most popular?
The single biggest year for Camela was 1963, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Camela is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Camela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 976 people with the name Camela, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,669 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 Camela 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 Camela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Camela appears almost entirely female. Of the 980 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Camela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Camela is White at 48.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.1%) and Black (18.3%). 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 Camela most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Camela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.0% (468 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 Camela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Camela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Camela 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 Camela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Camela 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 Camela 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 Camela?
Find out how many people have the name Camela on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.