Jacqua
A feminine given name of uncertain origin, potentially relating to Jacques.
Name Census estimates that about 28 living Americans carry the first name Jacqua. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jacqua today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jacqua births was 1987 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jacqua. 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 Jacqua. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
28
~ 1 in 12,241,226 Americans
Peak year
1987
8 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
1989 SSA rank
#9,044
Tracked since 1952
Census
Jacqua in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 111 people with the first name Jacqua, which placed it at #51,800 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
#51,800
National first-name rank
People counted
111
111 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
48.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jacqua
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jacqua is Black at 48.6%. The next largest groups are White (46.8%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Jacqua 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 Jacqua at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American48.6% · 54
- White46.8% · 52
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Popularity
Jacqua: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jacqua from the 1950s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 22 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jacqua 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 Jacqua 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 Jacqua
The name Jacqua is a unique and intriguing moniker with roots stretching back to the ancient world. Its origins can be traced to the Proto-Indo-European language family, specifically the root word "yakw," which means "to be strong" or "to be vigorous." This root eventually evolved into the Latin name "Jacobus," which was later adopted by various European cultures and underwent numerous transformations.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Jacqua can be found in medieval chronicles and documents from the Frankish Kingdom, where it was a variant spelling of the more common "Jacques." During this period, the name was borne by several notable figures, including Jacqua of Burgundy (1063-1105), a noblewoman who played a significant role in the political affairs of her time.
As the name spread across Europe, it took on various forms and spellings, reflecting the linguistic diversity of the regions it encountered. In Spain, for instance, the name evolved into "Jaqua," while in Italy, it became "Jacqua." These variations were often influenced by local dialects and pronunciation patterns.
Throughout history, the name Jacqua has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including religious leaders, artists, and scholars. One notable figure was Jacqua de Voragine (1230-1298), an Italian Dominican friar and Archbishop of Genoa, who authored the influential work "The Golden Legend," a collection of hagiographies and saints' lives.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Jacqua Callot (1592-1635), a French printmaker and draftsman known for his etchings depicting the miseries of war and the lives of the common people. His intricate and detailed works have been celebrated for their artistic merit and historical significance.
In the realm of literature, Jacqua Roubaud (1932-2023) was a French writer and poet associated with the Oulipo movement, which explored the possibilities of constrained writing techniques. Her experimental works challenged traditional literary conventions and explored the boundaries of language and form.
The name Jacqua also found its way into the world of music, with Jacqua Vautor (1619-1672), a French composer and organist who made significant contributions to the development of French baroque music. His works, which included masses, motets, and instrumental pieces, were highly regarded during his lifetime and continue to be studied and performed by musicians today.
While these are just a few examples, the name Jacqua has been carried by countless individuals throughout history, each leaving their unique mark on the world in their own way. Its rich tapestry of cultural and linguistic influences continues to captivate and intrigue those who study the fascinating world of onomatology.
People
Jacqua + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jacqua as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jacqua: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jacqua?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 28 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jacqua 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 12,241,226 US residents.
Is Jacqua a common name?
We classify Jacqua as "Very Rare". It ranks above 45.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 33 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jacqua most popular?
The single biggest year for Jacqua was 1987, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jacqua is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jacqua in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 111 people with the name Jacqua, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,800 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 Jacqua 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 Jacqua?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jacqua leans strongly female. 93 people counted with this name were female (83.8%), compared with 18 male bearers (16.2%). 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 Jacqua?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jacqua is Black at 48.6%. The next largest groups are White (46.8%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Jacqua most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jacqua in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.6% (54 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 Jacqua in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jacqua a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jacqua 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 Jacqua still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jacqua 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 Jacqua 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 Jacqua?
You can see how many people share the name Jacqua on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.