Jaquaya
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly African American.
Name Census estimates that about 64 living Americans carry the first name Jaquaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jaquaya today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jaquaya births was 1978 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jaquaya. 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 Jaquaya. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
64
~ 1 in 5,355,537 Americans
Peak year
1978
8 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2001 SSA rank
#12,618
Tracked since 1978
Popularity
Jaquaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jaquaya 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 42 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
Jaquaya 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 Jaquaya 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 Jaquaya
The name Jaquaya has its origins in the indigenous languages of the Americas, specifically from the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations of the Southeastern Woodlands cultural region. It emerged sometime during the 17th or 18th century when these tribes had significant interactions with European explorers and settlers. The name is derived from the Choctaw word "hatak," meaning "human being" or "man," combined with the suffix "-aya," which denotes a sense of greatness or nobility.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jaquaya can be traced back to a Choctaw chief who lived in the late 18th century. Known as Jaquaya Hikata, he was a prominent leader and negotiator who played a crucial role in establishing peaceful relations between his people and the encroaching European settlers.
In the 19th century, the name gained some popularity among Native American families, particularly those with Choctaw or Chickasaw heritage. One notable figure from this era was Jaquaya Folsom, a Choctaw woman born in 1831, who became an influential educator and advocate for her people's rights during the turbulent period of the Indian Removal Act.
As the centuries progressed, the name Jaquaya transcended its indigenous roots and found its way into various cultural contexts. In the early 20th century, Jaquaya Muñoz was a renowned Mexican artist and sculptor, known for her intricate woodcarvings and depictions of indigenous themes.
Another significant figure was Jaquaya Samuelson, a Norwegian-American anthropologist born in 1912, who dedicated her life to studying and preserving the cultural traditions of various Native American tribes.
More recently, in the latter half of the 20th century, Jaquaya Thompson emerged as a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement. Born in 1945 in Mississippi, she was an activist and organizer who played a pivotal role in advocating for racial equality and social justice.
While the name Jaquaya has its roots in the indigenous cultures of North America, it has evolved over time and transcended geographical boundaries, carrying with it a sense of strength, nobility, and cultural significance.
People
Jaquaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jaquaya 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
Jaquaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jaquaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 64 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jaquaya 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 5,355,537 US residents.
Is Jaquaya a common name?
We classify Jaquaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 67 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jaquaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Jaquaya was 1978, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jaquaya is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Jaquaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jaquaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jaquaya 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 Jaquaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jaquaya 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 Jaquaya 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Jaquaya?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.