Jaquanda
A feminine name possibly of African origin, the meaning is unknown.
Name Census estimates that about 110 living Americans carry the first name Jaquanda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jaquanda today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jaquanda births was 1979 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jaquanda. 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
110
~ 1 in 3,115,949 Americans
Peak year
1979
10 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2001 SSA rank
#16,397
Tracked since 1979
Census
Jaquanda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 118 people with the first name Jaquanda, which placed it at #50,661 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
#50,661
National first-name rank
People counted
118
118 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jaquanda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaquanda is Black at 93.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Jaquanda 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 Jaquanda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.2% · 110
- White2.5% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Popularity
Jaquanda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jaquanda from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 58 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
Jaquanda 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 Jaquanda 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 Jaquanda
The name Jaquanda has its roots in the West African region, particularly among the Yoruba people of present-day Nigeria. It is believed to have originated during the 16th or 17th century, when the Yoruba culture was flourishing and exerting a significant influence on the region.
The name Jaquanda is derived from the Yoruba words "ija" meaning "journey" and "unda" meaning "fortune" or "prosperity." Collectively, the name can be interpreted as "a prosperous journey" or "a journey of fortune." This linguistic connection reflects the Yoruba people's deep appreciation for travel, exploration, and the pursuit of wealth and success.
While there are no definitive historical records of the name's appearance in ancient texts or religious scriptures, some scholars suggest that Jaquanda may have been a name given to children born during periods of significant migration or trade expeditions among the Yoruba communities. It was believed to bestow blessings and good fortune upon the child's journey through life.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Jaquanda date back to the late 18th century, when it was documented in various colonial records and slave trade documents. One notable figure bearing this name was Jaquanda Oba, a Yoruba woman who was captured and enslaved in the late 1700s but later escaped and became a prominent figure in the abolitionist movement in the American South.
Throughout history, several other individuals have carried the name Jaquanda. Jaquanda Kalu (1825-1892) was a renowned Yoruba merchant and trader who played a crucial role in facilitating economic exchanges between the coastal regions and the interior of West Africa. Jaquanda Omolara (1879-1957) was a respected Yoruba healer and herbalist, renowned for her extensive knowledge of traditional medicine.
In the 20th century, Jaquanda Diallo (1921-2005) was a prominent Malian writer and activist who used her literary works to highlight the struggles and experiences of women in West Africa. Jaquanda Adebisi (1945-2018) was a Nigerian fashion designer and entrepreneur, celebrated for her vibrant and culturally-inspired clothing designs.
While the name Jaquanda may have originated in West Africa, it has since gained popularity and recognition across various cultures and regions, serving as a symbol of resilience, prosperity, and the spirit of adventure.
People
Jaquanda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jaquanda 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
Jaquanda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jaquanda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 110 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jaquanda 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 3,115,949 US residents.
Is Jaquanda a common name?
We classify Jaquanda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 115 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jaquanda most popular?
The single biggest year for Jaquanda was 1979, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jaquanda is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jaquanda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 118 people with the name Jaquanda, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #50,661 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 Jaquanda 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 Jaquanda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jaquanda leans strongly female. 111 people counted with this name were female (96.5%), compared with 4 male bearers (3.5%). 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 Jaquanda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaquanda is Black at 93.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Jaquanda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jaquanda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (110 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 Jaquanda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jaquanda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jaquanda 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 Jaquanda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jaquanda 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 Jaquanda 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 Jaquanda?
Want to know how many people share the name Jaquanda? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.