Iayana
A feminine name of Native American origin meaning "beautiful jasmine flower".
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Iayana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Iayana today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Iayana births was 2008 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Iayana. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Iayana. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
2008
6 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2010 SSA rank
#18,017
Tracked since 2005
Popularity
Iayana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Iayana from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 16 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Iayana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Iayana 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 Iayana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Iayana
The name Iayana has its origins in West Africa and is believed to be of Yoruba descent. The Yoruba people are an ethnic group found in modern-day Nigeria and neighboring regions. The name is thought to derive from the Yoruba word "ìyàn," which means "to walk with grace and dignity."
In pre-colonial West Africa, names often carried significant cultural meaning and were carefully chosen to reflect desirable traits or blessings for the child. The name Iayana was likely given to girls with the hope that they would embody grace, elegance, and poise in their life's journey.
While the exact origins of the name are difficult to trace due to the oral traditions of the Yoruba culture, some of the earliest recorded instances of the name appear in historical accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries. During this period, European explorers and traders documented encounters with West African communities, occasionally mentioning individuals by name.
One notable individual with the name Iayana was a Yoruba woman born around 1790 in the Kingdom of Oyo, located in present-day southwestern Nigeria. Historical records suggest she was a respected trader and played a significant role in facilitating commercial exchanges between her community and European merchants.
Another historical figure with the name Iayana was a Yoruba priestess born in the early 19th century. She was known for her deep knowledge of traditional spiritual practices and her influence within the local religious community.
In the late 19th century, a woman named Iayana was recorded as a prominent storyteller and oral historian in the Yoruba city of Ibadan. She was renowned for her ability to preserve and pass down the rich cultural heritage of her people through captivating tales and narratives.
As the name Iayana spread beyond its West African origins, it gained recognition in other parts of the world. In the early 20th century, a woman named Iayana was born in Jamaica to parents of Yoruba descent. She became a celebrated poet and writer, contributing to the literary landscape of the Caribbean region.
Another notable individual with the name Iayana was a Nigerian-American artist born in the 1960s. Her vibrant and expressive paintings, often inspired by her Yoruba heritage, gained widespread acclaim and were featured in numerous exhibitions and galleries.
People
Iayana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Iayana as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Iayana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Iayana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Iayana 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 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Iayana a common name?
We classify Iayana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Iayana most popular?
The single biggest year for Iayana was 2008, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Iayana is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Iayana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Iayana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Iayana 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 Iayana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Iayana 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 Iayana 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Iayana?
Find out how many people share the name Iayana on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.