Imaya
An Inuit name meaning "a smiling beautiful girl".
Name Census estimates that about 186 living Americans carry the first name Imaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Imaya today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Imaya births was 2023 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Imaya. 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 Imaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
186
~ 1 in 1,842,765 Americans
Peak year
2023
15 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,109
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Imaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Imaya from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 68 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Imaya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Imaya 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 Imaya 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 Imaya
The name Imaya is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language of India, dating back to the first millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "maya," which means "illusion" or "magic." The name is thought to have been used as a reference to the divine feminine power of creation and the illusory nature of the material world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Imaya can be found in the sacred Hindu text, the Bhagavad Gita, where it is mentioned as a personification of the divine feminine energy known as "Shakti." In Hindu mythology, Maya is often depicted as the consort of the god Shiva and is associated with the creation and sustenance of the universe.
Throughout the centuries, the name Imaya has been borne by several notable figures in Indian history and literature. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Imaya Devi, a 10th-century queen and consort of the Chola ruler Rajaraja Chola I. She is renowned for her patronage of the arts and her contributions to the construction of the renowned Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur.
Another notable bearer of the name was Imaya Gauri, a 16th-century Rajput princess and poet from the region of present-day Rajasthan. Her collection of poems, known as the "Imaya Gauri Kavya," is considered a classic of medieval Indian literature and explores themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition.
In the 18th century, Imaya Bai was a renowned courtesan and poetess from the city of Lucknow, known for her contributions to the Urdu literary tradition. Her poetry, which often explored themes of love and devotion, continues to be celebrated and studied by scholars of Urdu literature.
Moving into the 20th century, Imaya Srinivasan was an influential Indian feminist and social reformer who fought for women's rights and education. Born in 1904, she played a pivotal role in establishing several educational institutions for women and advocating for gender equality in India.
Another notable figure with the name Imaya was Imaya Narayanan, a celebrated Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer who was born in 1954. She is widely recognized for her contributions to the preservation and promotion of classical Indian dance forms and has received numerous awards and honors for her artistic achievements.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Imaya, a name steeped in the rich cultural and spiritual traditions of India and imbued with a sense of divine femininity and creative power.
People
Imaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Imaya 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
Imaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Imaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 186 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Imaya 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 1,842,765 US residents.
Is Imaya a common name?
We classify Imaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 188 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Imaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Imaya was 2023, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Imaya is about 14 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 Imaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Imaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Imaya 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 Imaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Imaya 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 Imaya 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 Americans are named Imaya?
See how many Americans are named Imaya on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.