Havana
A feminine name of Spanish origin referring to the capital of Cuba.
Name Census estimates that about 1,503 living Americans carry the first name Havana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Havana today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Havana births was 2018 (171 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Havana. 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 Havana with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Havana is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 228,047 Americans
Peak year
2018
171 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,510
Tracked since 1898
Census
Havana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,075 people with the first name Havana, which placed it at #11,778 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
#11,778
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,075 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
42.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Havana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Havana is Hispanic at 42.0%. The next largest groups are White (36.4%) and Black (11.3%). 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 Havana 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 Havana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino42.0% · 452
- White36.4% · 391
- Black or African American11.3% · 122
- Two or more races7.9% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 11
Popularity
Havana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Havana from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 732 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Havana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Havana 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 Havana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Havanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Havana, while Washington, Tennessee, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Havana
The given name Havana has its origins in the Spanish language and is derived from the name of the capital city of Cuba, Havana. The name Havana itself is believed to have been derived from the indigenous Taíno word "Habanaguaná," which referred to a local Aboriginal settlement near the present-day city. The Taíno people were the original inhabitants of the Caribbean region, including Cuba, and their language influenced many place names in the area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Havana can be traced back to the 16th century, when Spanish colonizers established the city of San Cristóbal de la Habana, now known as Havana, in 1515. The city quickly became an important port and hub for Spanish trade and exploration in the region.
While the name Havana does not have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the most famous individuals with the first name Havana was Havana Brown (born 1985), an Australian singer, songwriter, and DJ known for her hits like "We Run the Night" and "Warrior."
Another notable person with the name Havana is Havana Marking (born 1991), an Australian model and actress who has appeared in various television shows and films. Havana Guppy (born 1987) is a British television presenter and journalist who has worked for various networks, including BBC and Channel 4.
In the literary world, Havana Cain (born 1973) is an American author and poet known for her works exploring themes of identity, feminism, and social justice. Havana Nguyen (born 1981) is a Vietnamese-American chef and restaurateur who has gained recognition for her innovative fusion cuisine blending Vietnamese and American flavors.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the first name Havana throughout history, highlighting its distinctive and multicultural origins.
People
Havana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Havana as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Havana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Havana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,503 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Havana 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 228,047 US residents.
Is Havana a common name?
We classify Havana as "Rare". It ranks above 92.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,555 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Havana most popular?
The single biggest year for Havana was 2018, when 171 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Havana is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Havana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,075 people with the name Havana, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,778 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 Havana 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 Havana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Havana appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,066 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Havana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Havana is Hispanic at 42.0%. The next largest groups are White (36.4%) and Black (11.3%). 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 Havana most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Havana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.0% (452 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 Havana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Havana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Havana 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 Havana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Havana 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 Havana 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 Havana?
Find out how many people share the name Havana on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.