Fayetta
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly related to the French word fée meaning "fairy".
Name Census estimates that about 394 living Americans carry the first name Fayetta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Fayetta today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fayetta births was 1953 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fayetta. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Fayetta is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Fayettas were born before 1962.
People living today
394
~ 1 in 869,935 Americans
Peak year
1953
39 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1977 SSA rank
#7,784
Tracked since 1901
Popularity
Fayetta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fayetta from the 1900s through to the 1970s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 237 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fayetta 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 Fayetta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fayettas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Illinois recorded the most babies named Fayetta, while Oklahoma, Illinois, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fayetta
The name Fayetta is a feminine given name of uncertain origin, with various theories proposed regarding its etymology and meaning. One possible theory suggests that it may be a variant or diminutive form of the name Fay, which itself is derived from the Old French word "fée" meaning "fairy."
Another theory proposes that Fayetta is a combination of the English name Fay and the Italian suffix "-etta," which is commonly used to form feminine diminutives. This suggests that the name may have originated as a blend of English and Italian influences.
Historically, the earliest recorded instances of the name Fayetta can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, primarily in the United States and Canada. However, there are limited records or historical references to the name prior to this period.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Fayetta was Fayetta Pauline Clark (1889-1981), an American author and playwright from Missouri. Another notable figure was Fayetta Weems (1897-1968), an American violinist and musician from Texas.
In the realm of literature, the name Fayetta appears in the novel "The Tin Star" by John Edward Williams, published in 1964, where it is the name of a character. Additionally, Fayetta Sims is a character in the play "Precious Lord" by Gary Earl Ross, first performed in 1985.
While not extensively documented in historical records, the name Fayetta has been used throughout the 20th century by various individuals, such as Fayetta Lee Ables (1921-2012), an American educator from Arkansas, and Fayetta Rocha, a Brazilian-American artist and painter active in the late 20th century.
It is important to note that the name Fayetta remains relatively uncommon, and its usage has been sporadic throughout history, with limited information available on its origins and early references.
People
Fayetta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fayetta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fayetta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fayetta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 394 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fayetta 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 869,935 US residents.
Is Fayetta a common name?
We classify Fayetta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,061 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fayetta most popular?
The single biggest year for Fayetta was 1953, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fayetta is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Fayetta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fayetta 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.