Isatu
A feminine name of West African origin meaning "jewel".
Name Census estimates that about 181 living Americans carry the first name Isatu. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Isatu today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Isatu births was 2002 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Isatu. 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 Isatu with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
181
~ 1 in 1,893,670 Americans
Peak year
2002
14 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2022 SSA rank
#16,253
Tracked since 1993
Census
Isatu in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 767 people with the first name Isatu, which placed it at #15,110 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
#15,110
National first-name rank
People counted
767
767 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
97.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Isatu
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Isatu is Black at 97.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.7%) and White (0.5%). 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 Isatu 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 Isatu at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American97.8% · 750
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 5
- White0.5% · 4
- Two or more races0.5% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Isatu: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Isatu 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 77 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Isatu 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 Isatu during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Isatus live
Origin
Meaning and history of Isatu
The name Isatu originates from the Mende language spoken by the Mende people of Sierra Leone in West Africa. It is believed to have derived from the word "isato" which means "perseverance" or "determination" in the Mende language.
Isatu is a feminine name that has been in use among the Mende people for centuries. The Mende are one of the largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone, and their language and culture have had a significant influence on the country's naming traditions.
While the name Isatu is not directly mentioned in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is deeply rooted in the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Mende people. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 18th and 19th centuries, during the time of the Sierra Leone Creole people's formation.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Isatu. One of the most prominent was Isatu Kallon (1948-2021), a Sierra Leonean politician and activist who served as the Minister of Trade and Industry in the late 1990s. She was known for her advocacy for women's rights and her efforts to promote economic development in Sierra Leone.
Another notable Isatu was Isatu Timbo (born c. 1830), a Sierra Leonean woman who was captured and enslaved in the United States during the 19th century. Her story became widely known after she was emancipated and returned to Sierra Leone, where she worked to abolish the practice of slavery.
In the literary world, Isatu Granger (born 1935) is a celebrated Sierra Leonean author and poet. Her works, including the novel "The Moonspinners" and the poetry collection "Echoes from the Hill," explore themes of identity, culture, and the experiences of women in Sierra Leone.
Isatu Fofanah (1943-2020) was a prominent Sierra Leonean educator and advocate for girls' education. She founded several schools and organizations aimed at empowering young women and promoting literacy in Sierra Leone.
Lastly, Isatu Kanneh-Mason (born 1994) is a British classical pianist and the eldest daughter of the renowned Kanneh-Mason musical family. She has performed at prestigious venues around the world and has been recognized for her exceptional talent and dedication to her craft.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Isatu throughout history, reflecting the name's rich cultural heritage and the diverse contributions of those who have carried it.
People
Isatu + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Isatu 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
Isatu: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Isatu?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 181 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Isatu 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 1,893,670 US residents.
Is Isatu a common name?
We classify Isatu as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 184 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Isatu most popular?
The single biggest year for Isatu was 2002, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Isatu is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Isatu in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 767 people with the name Isatu, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,110 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 Isatu 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 Isatu?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Isatu appears almost entirely female. Of the 760 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Isatu?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Isatu is Black at 97.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.7%) and White (0.5%). 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 Isatu most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Isatu in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.8% (750 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 Isatu in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Isatu a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Isatu 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 Isatu still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Isatu 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 Isatu 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 have Isatu as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.