Cianna
A feminine name derived from Italian possibly meaning "God's gracious gift".
Name Census estimates that about 2,875 living Americans carry the first name Cianna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cianna today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cianna births was 2006 (202 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cianna. 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 Cianna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.9K
~ 1 in 119,219 Americans
Peak year
2006
202 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,819
Tracked since 1981
Census
Cianna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,167 people with the first name Cianna, which placed it at #7,121 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
#7,121
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,167 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
33.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cianna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cianna is White at 33.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.7%) and Black (22.9%). 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 Cianna 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 Cianna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White33.0% · 716
- Hispanic or Latino28.7% · 623
- Black or African American22.9% · 497
- Two or more races10.5% · 228
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 67
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 36
Popularity
Cianna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cianna from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,288 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
Cianna 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 Cianna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ciannas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Cianna, while Washington, Missouri, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 69 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cianna
The name Cianna is a variant of the Irish name Sionna, which is derived from the Gaelic word "sìon" meaning "storm" or "tempest." This name has its origins in Celtic culture and mythology, where storms were often personified as powerful and fierce entities.
The earliest recorded use of the name Cianna dates back to the 17th century in Ireland, where it was primarily used in coastal regions and among families with strong ties to the sea. The name's association with storms and tempests likely resonated with the seafaring communities of that time.
In ancient Irish folklore, there are references to goddesses and mythical figures associated with storms and the sea, such as the goddess Anu, who was believed to control the winds and storms. It is possible that the name Cianna may have been inspired by these mythological connections.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Cianna. One of the earliest recorded was Cianna O'Flaherty (1623-1698), a renowned Irish poet and storyteller from County Galway, known for her lyrical compositions celebrating the beauty of the Irish landscape and the resilience of her people.
Another prominent figure was Cianna MacNeill (1789-1867), a skilled weaver and businesswoman from County Donegal, who established a successful textile trade and was instrumental in preserving traditional Irish weaving techniques.
In the 19th century, Cianna Ní Mhórdha (1832-1912) was a respected Irish language scholar and advocate for the preservation of the Gaelic language and culture. Her work contributed significantly to the Gaelic Revival movement of the time.
In the realm of literature, Cianna O'Malley (1901-1979) was an acclaimed Irish novelist and short story writer, whose works explored themes of identity, family, and the complexities of rural life in Ireland.
More recently, Cianna Fitzgerald (1946-2018) was a prominent Irish musician and singer, renowned for her powerful vocals and her dedication to preserving traditional Irish folk music.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Cianna throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich cultural tapestry of Ireland and beyond.
People
Cianna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cianna 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
Cianna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cianna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,875 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cianna 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 119,219 US residents.
Is Cianna a common name?
We classify Cianna as "Rare". It ranks above 95% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,918 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cianna most popular?
The single biggest year for Cianna was 2006, when 202 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cianna is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cianna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,167 people with the name Cianna, or 0.72 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,121 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 Cianna 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 Cianna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cianna appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,165 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 Cianna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cianna is White at 33.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.7%) and Black (22.9%). 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 Cianna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cianna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 33.0% (716 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 Cianna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cianna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cianna 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 Cianna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cianna 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 Cianna 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 have the name Cianna?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.