Heloisa
The feminine form of the Germanic name Helewidis meaning "healthy" or "strong".
Name Census estimates that about 155 living Americans carry the first name Heloisa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Heloisa today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Heloisa births was 2022 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Heloisa. 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 Heloisa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
155
~ 1 in 2,211,318 Americans
Peak year
2022
25 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,336
Tracked since 2006
Census
Heloisa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 495 people with the first name Heloisa, which placed it at #20,757 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
#20,757
National first-name rank
People counted
495
495 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heloisa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Heloisa is White at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Heloisa 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 Heloisa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.2% · 412
- Black or African American6.3% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 13
- Two or more races2.6% · 13
Popularity
Heloisa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Heloisa from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 101 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Heloisa 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 Heloisa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Heloisas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Massachusetts, Florida, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Heloisa, while New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Heloisa
The name Heloisa has its origins in the Greek name Heloise, which was derived from the Greek word "helios," meaning "sun." This name was popular in medieval times, particularly in France and other parts of Western Europe.
One of the most famous bearers of this name was Heloise d'Argenteuil (c. 1090-1164), a French nun, writer, and scholar who was renowned for her relationship with the philosopher Peter Abelard. Their tragic love story and correspondence have become iconic in literature and popular culture.
Another notable figure named Heloisa was Heloisa de Ledesma (c. 1868-1932), a Spanish writer and feminist activist who campaigned for women's rights and education in Spain. She was a prominent figure in the early feminist movement and published several works on women's issues.
In the 16th century, Heloisa de Sá (c. 1510-1583) was a Portuguese noblewoman and patron of the arts. She played a significant role in supporting the arts and culture during the Portuguese Renaissance.
Heloisa Torres (1932-2022) was a Brazilian actress and singer who had a successful career spanning over six decades. She was known for her roles in various telenovelas and movies and was considered a cultural icon in Brazil.
Heloisa Pinheiro (born 1973) is a Brazilian journalist and television presenter. She has hosted several popular news and entertainment shows in Brazil and is known for her work in promoting social and environmental causes.
It is worth noting that while the name Heloisa has its roots in ancient Greek, it has been used across various cultures and time periods, often with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation. The name has maintained its association with the sun and radiance, as well as its connections to notable figures in literature, arts, and activism.
People
Heloisa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Heloisa 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
Heloisa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Heloisa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 155 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Heloisa 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 2,211,318 US residents.
Is Heloisa a common name?
We classify Heloisa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 156 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Heloisa most popular?
The single biggest year for Heloisa was 2022, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Heloisa is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Heloisa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 495 people with the name Heloisa, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,757 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 Heloisa 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 Heloisa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Heloisa appears almost entirely female. Of the 498 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Heloisa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Heloisa is White at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Heloisa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Heloisa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.2% (412 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 Heloisa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Heloisa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Heloisa 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 Heloisa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Heloisa 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 Heloisa 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 Heloisa?
You can see how many people have the name Heloisa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.