Candia
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the island of Crete.
Name Census estimates that about 168 living Americans carry the first name Candia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Candia today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Candia births was 1953 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Candia. 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
168
~ 1 in 2,040,204 Americans
Peak year
1953
12 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
1989 SSA rank
#12,664
Tracked since 1950
Census
Candia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 309 people with the first name Candia, which placed it at #28,877 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
#28,877
National first-name rank
People counted
309
309 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Candia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Candia is White at 57.3%. The next largest groups are Black (22.0%) and Hispanic (16.2%). 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 Candia 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 Candia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.3% · 177
- Black or African American22.0% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino16.2% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 5
- Two or more races1.6% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 4
Popularity
Candia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Candia from the 1950s through to the 1980s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 85 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Candia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Candia 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 Candia 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 Candia
The name Candia has its origins in Ancient Greek, deriving from the word "kandys," which means "white" or "brilliant." This connection suggests the name may have originally been associated with someone with a pale complexion or perhaps linked to the concept of purity or luminosity.
In the Byzantine era, the name was occasionally used, with records indicating a few individuals bearing the name during the 6th to 9th centuries. One notable example is Candia of Constantinople, a Byzantine noblewoman who lived in the 7th century and was known for her patronage of the arts and literature.
The name gained more widespread popularity during the Renaissance period, particularly in Italy. It is believed that the island of Crete, known as Candia at the time, may have influenced the name's usage. A famous bearer of the name was Candia Caetani, an Italian poet and philosopher who lived from 1425 to 1487 and was renowned for her work on Platonic philosophy.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in various literary works, including those of the English playwright William Shakespeare. In his play "Othello," one of the characters is named Candia, though it is unclear whether this was intended as a first name or a reference to the island.
During the 17th century, the name was carried by Candia Castellini, an Italian operatic soprano who performed in several notable Italian operas between 1630 and 1650. Her talent and popularity helped to spread the name's recognition across Europe.
Another notable bearer of the name was Candia Canavarro, a Portuguese noble and philanthropist who lived from 1671 to 1743. She was known for her charitable works and her support of educational initiatives in her home country.
While the name Candia has declined in usage in recent centuries, it remains a part of historical records and literary works, serving as a reminder of its ancient Greek roots and its association with concepts of brilliance and purity.
People
Candia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Candia 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
Candia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Candia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 168 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Candia 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 2,040,204 US residents.
Is Candia a common name?
We classify Candia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 210 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Candia most popular?
The single biggest year for Candia was 1953, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Candia is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Candia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 309 people with the name Candia, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,877 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 Candia 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 Candia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Candia leans strongly female. 301 people counted with this name were female (96.8%), compared with 10 male bearers (3.2%). 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 Candia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Candia is White at 57.3%. The next largest groups are Black (22.0%) and Hispanic (16.2%). 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 Candia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Candia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.3% (177 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 Candia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Candia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Candia 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 Candia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Candia 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 Candia 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 common is the name Candia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.