Izaya
A masculine Japanese name meaning "he who looks over the others".
Name Census estimates that about 1,063 living Americans carry the first name Izaya. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Izaya today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Izaya births was 2006 (81 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Izaya. 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 Izaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Izaya is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 322,441 Americans
Peak year
2006
81 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,114
Tracked since 1996
Census
Izaya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 782 people with the first name Izaya, which placed it at #14,896 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
#14,896
National first-name rank
People counted
782
782 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
37.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Izaya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Izaya is Hispanic at 37.2%. The next largest groups are White (25.8%) and Black (17.9%). 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 Izaya 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 Izaya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino37.2% · 291
- White25.8% · 202
- Black or African American17.9% · 140
- Two or more races15.1% · 118
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 13
Popularity
Izaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Izaya 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 533 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
Izaya 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 Izaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Izayas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Izaya, while Colorado, Arizona, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Izaya
The name Izaya has its origins in the Japanese language, derived from the combination of the words "iza" meaning "move forward" and "ya" which can translate to "house" or "dwelling." This name has been in use for centuries in Japan, though its precise origins are difficult to pinpoint.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Izaya can be found in the historical text "Nihon Shoki," which dates back to the 8th century. This text chronicles the mythology and early history of Japan, suggesting that the name held significance during this time period.
In the 12th century, the famous Japanese warrior and samurai, Izaya Nobunaga, was born. He played a pivotal role in the Genpei War, a conflict between the Minamoto and Taira clans that ultimately led to the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate.
Another notable figure with the name Izaya was Izaya Ienari, a Confucian scholar and philosopher who lived during the Edo period of Japan (1603-1868). His writings and teachings had a profound impact on the intellectual landscape of the time.
In the realm of Japanese literature, the name Izaya has been immortalized by Izaya Shikibu, a renowned writer and poet who lived during the Heian period (794-1185). Her work, particularly the classic novel "The Tale of Genji," is widely regarded as a masterpiece of Japanese literature.
Moving to more modern times, Izaya Hiroshige was a celebrated ukiyo-e artist who lived during the late Edo period (1797-1858). His woodblock prints, depicting landscapes and scenes from everyday life, are considered among the finest examples of the ukiyo-e genre.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Izaya. While its precise origins may be shrouded in mystery, the name has undoubtedly left an indelible mark on Japanese culture and history.
People
Izaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Izaya 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
Izaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Izaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,063 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Izaya 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 322,441 US residents.
Is Izaya a common name?
We classify Izaya as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,075 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Izaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Izaya was 2006, when 81 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Izaya is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Izaya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 782 people with the name Izaya, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,896 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 Izaya 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 Izaya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Izaya leans strongly male. 756 people counted with this name were male (97.5%), compared with 19 female bearers (2.5%). 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 Izaya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Izaya is Hispanic at 37.2%. The next largest groups are White (25.8%) and Black (17.9%). 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 Izaya most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Izaya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.2% (291 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 Izaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Izaya a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Izaya in the SSA data are male. 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 Izaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Izaya 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 Izaya 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 common is the name Izaya?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.