Esperanza
The Spanish name meaning hope or expectation.
Name Census estimates that about 15,431 living Americans carry the first name Esperanza. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Esperanza today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Esperanza births was 2000 (499 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Esperanza. 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
15K
~ 1 in 22,212 Americans
Peak year
2000
499 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2002 SSA rank
#1,017
Tracked since 1903
Gender
Gender distribution for Esperanza
Out of the 20,689 babies given the name Esperanza since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Esperanza as a male name
- Ranked #11,234 in 2002
- 5 male births in 2002
- Peak: 1923 (5 births)
Esperanza as a female name
- Ranked #1,017 in 2024
- 249 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2000 (499 births)
Popularity
Esperanza: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Esperanza from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 3,819 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Esperanza remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Esperanza 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 Esperanza during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Esperanzas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 34 states and territories. Texas, California, Arizona recorded the most babies named Esperanza, while Massachusetts, Louisiana, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 517 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Esperanza
The given name Esperanza is of Spanish origin, derived from the word "esperanza" which means "hope" in the Spanish language. The name has its roots in Latin, stemming from the word "sperare" meaning "to hope."
Esperanza became a popular name during the medieval period in Spain, particularly among Catholic families, as it symbolized the virtue of hope and faith in Christian teachings. The name gained further prominence during the era of Spanish colonization in the Americas, as it was bestowed upon many children born in the colonies.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Esperanza can be found in the 13th-century Spanish epic poem "El Cantar de Mio Cid," where a character named Esperanza appears. Additionally, the name is mentioned in various religious texts and writings from the medieval and renaissance periods in Spain.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Esperanza. One of the most famous was Esperanza Aguirre (born 1952), a Spanish politician who served as the President of the Community of Madrid from 2003 to 2012. Another notable figure was Esperanza Spalding (born 1984), an American jazz bassist and singer who won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2011.
Other individuals with the name Esperanza include Esperanza Gordillo (1945-2019), a Mexican labor leader and former head of the national teachers' union, and Esperanza Venegas (born 1970), a Mexican singer-songwriter known for her contributions to Latin alternative rock.
In literature, one of the most renowned characters named Esperanza is found in Sandra Cisneros' novel "The House on Mango Street," published in 1984. The book's protagonist, a young Latina girl named Esperanza, navigates the challenges of growing up in a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago.
People
Esperanza + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Esperanza as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Esperanza: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Esperanza?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15,431 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Esperanza 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 22,212 US residents.
Is Esperanza a common name?
We classify Esperanza as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20,689 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Esperanza most popular?
The single biggest year for Esperanza was 2000, when 499 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Esperanza is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Esperanza a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Esperanza 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.
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.