Itsel
A feminine name with uncertain origins and meanings, possibly meaning "gift from God."
Name Census estimates that about 192 living Americans carry the first name Itsel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Itsel today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Itsel births was 1994 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Itsel. 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.
People living today
192
~ 1 in 1,785,179 Americans
Peak year
1994
29 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2011 SSA rank
#17,841
Tracked since 1993
Census
Itsel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 256 people with the first name Itsel, which placed it at #32,700 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
#32,700
National first-name rank
People counted
256
256 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Itsel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Itsel is Hispanic at 97.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.4%). 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 Itsel 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 Itsel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.3% · 249
- White2.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Itsel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Itsel from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 100 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Itsel 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 Itsel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Itsels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Itsel
The name Itsel is believed to have its origins in the ancient Nahuatl language, spoken by the Aztec people of Mexico. Nahuatl was the primary language of the Aztec Empire, which flourished from the 14th to the 16th century in what is now central Mexico.
It is thought that Itsel is derived from the Nahuatl word "itzli," which means "obsidian" or "obsidian knife." Obsidian, a naturally occurring volcanic glass, was highly valued by the Aztecs for its sharp edges and use in various tools, weapons, and ritual objects.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Itsel can be found in the Codex Mendoza, a 16th-century Aztec codex depicting the history and culture of the Aztec people. The codex contains illustrations and descriptions of various individuals, some of whom may have borne the name Itsel or a variation thereof.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Itsel, although records from earlier periods may be incomplete or difficult to verify. One such individual was Itsel Xochitl, a renowned Aztec artist and sculptor who lived in the late 15th century and was known for her intricate carvings in obsidian.
Another notable figure was Itsel Cuauhtémoc, an Aztec warrior and commander who fought against the Spanish conquistadors during the fall of the Aztec Empire in the early 16th century. He is celebrated for his bravery and resistance against the invading Spanish forces.
In more recent times, Itsel Guadalupe Flores (1918-2002) was a Mexican painter and printmaker who gained recognition for her vibrant depictions of indigenous Mexican culture and traditions. Her works are housed in various museums and collections around the world.
Itsel Danova (1932-2020) was a Mexican-American actress and dancer who appeared in several Hollywood films and television shows throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including roles in "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."
Itsel Martínez (born 1984) is a contemporary Mexican singer and songwriter known for her work in the regional Mexican music genre. She has released several successful albums and has been recognized with various awards and nominations for her contributions to the industry.
People
Itsel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Itsel 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
Itsel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Itsel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 192 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Itsel 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 1,785,179 US residents.
Is Itsel a common name?
We classify Itsel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 197 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Itsel most popular?
The single biggest year for Itsel was 1994, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Itsel is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Itsel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 256 people with the name Itsel, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,700 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 Itsel 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 Itsel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Itsel leans strongly female. 245 people counted with this name were female (95.7%), compared with 11 male bearers (4.3%). 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 Itsel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Itsel is Hispanic at 97.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.4%). 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 Itsel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Itsel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (249 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 Itsel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Itsel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Itsel 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 Itsel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Itsel 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 Itsel 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 are called Itsel?
You can see how many people have the name Itsel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.