Jaunita
Feminine diminutive of the Spanish name Juana meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 1,392 living Americans carry the first name Jaunita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jaunita today is around 72 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jaunita births was 1924 (285 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jaunita. 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
- • The typical person named Jaunita is about 72 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Jaunitas were born before 1964.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 246,232 Americans
Peak year
1924
285 babies that year
Average age
72
years old
1991 SSA rank
#9,691
Tracked since 1894
Census
Jaunita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,096 people with the first name Jaunita, which placed it at #11,624 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
#11,624
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,096 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jaunita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaunita is White at 50.1%. The next largest groups are Black (25.0%) and Hispanic (19.3%). 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 Jaunita 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 Jaunita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.1% · 549
- Black or African American25.0% · 274
- Hispanic or Latino19.3% · 211
- Two or more races2.6% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 14
Popularity
Jaunita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jaunita from the 1890s through to the 1990s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 2,507 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jaunita 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 Jaunita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jaunitas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia recorded the most babies named Jaunita, while Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 206 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jaunita
The given name Jaunita originated from the Spanish language, tracing its roots back to ancient times. It is a feminine form derived from the Latin name "Johanna," which translates to "God is gracious." This name gained widespread popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions of Spain and Portugal.
In the early 13th century, the name Jaunita appeared in historical records documenting the lives of Spanish nobility and religious figures. One notable example is Jaunita de Valladolid, a Franciscan nun born in 1220, renowned for her charitable works and spiritual devotion.
As Spanish explorers ventured across the globe, the name Jaunita traveled with them, finding its way into various cultures and regions. In the 16th century, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Jaunita became a common name among the indigenous populations converted to Christianity.
Throughout history, several influential women have borne the name Jaunita. One such figure was Jaunita de la Cruz (1492-1534), a Spanish mystic and writer who penned numerous spiritual works and was revered for her piety and wisdom.
In the realm of arts and literature, Jaunita García Viudez (1780-1853) was a celebrated Spanish poet and playwright, known for her captivating verses and theatrical works that explored themes of love, nature, and societal issues.
The name also gained prominence in the world of politics and activism. Jaunita Marroquín (1900-1988) was a pioneering Guatemalan writer and feminist who championed women's rights and advocated for social reforms through her writings and public speeches.
Another notable figure was Jaunita Vera (1924-2003), a renowned Mexican anthropologist and researcher who dedicated her life to studying and preserving the cultural heritage of indigenous communities in Mexico and Central America.
While these are just a few examples, the name Jaunita has been carried by numerous remarkable individuals throughout history, each leaving their mark on various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human civilization.
People
Jaunita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jaunita 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
Jaunita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jaunita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,392 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jaunita 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 246,232 US residents.
Is Jaunita a common name?
We classify Jaunita as "Rare". It ranks above 92% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,892 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jaunita most popular?
The single biggest year for Jaunita was 1924, when 285 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jaunita is about 72 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jaunita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,096 people with the name Jaunita, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,624 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 Jaunita 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 Jaunita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jaunita appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,096 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Jaunita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaunita is White at 50.1%. The next largest groups are Black (25.0%) and Hispanic (19.3%). 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 Jaunita most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jaunita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.1% (549 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 Jaunita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jaunita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jaunita 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 Jaunita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jaunita 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 Jaunita 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 named Jaunita?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.