Jawanza
A masculine name of African origin meaning "bringer of light and peace".
Name Census estimates that about 197 living Americans carry the first name Jawanza. It is a predominantly male name (97.6% of registrations). The average person named Jawanza today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jawanza births was 1993 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jawanza. 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
197
~ 1 in 1,739,870 Americans
Peak year
1993
24 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2002 SSA rank
#9,947
Tracked since 1971
Census
Jawanza in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 229 people with the first name Jawanza, which placed it at #35,223 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
#35,223
National first-name rank
People counted
229
229 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jawanza
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jawanza is Black at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and White (2.6%). 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 Jawanza 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 Jawanza at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.3% · 209
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 9
- White2.6% · 6
- Two or more races2.2% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Jawanza
Jawanza leans heavily male at 97.6% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jawanza as a male name
- Ranked #9,947 in 2002
- 6 male births in 2002
- Peak: 1993 (19 births)
Jawanza as a female name
- Ranked #14,406 in 1993
- 5 female births in 1993
- Peak: 1993 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jawanza leans strongly male. 201 people counted with this name were male (88.2%), compared with 27 female bearers (11.8%).
Popularity
Jawanza: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jawanza 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 105 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
Jawanza 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 Jawanza during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jawanzas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jawanza
The given name Jawanza is believed to have originated from the Swahili language spoken in East Africa. The name is likely derived from the Arabic word "jawaz," which means "permit" or "authorization." This suggests that the name may have been given to a child as a symbolic representation of being permitted or authorized by a higher power.
In Swahili culture, names often carry deep cultural and spiritual significance, reflecting the values and beliefs of the community. Jawanza may have been used as a name to express the parents' hope for their child to have a blessed and authorized existence.
While the exact origins of the name are not well documented, it is believed to have been in use among Swahili-speaking communities in countries like Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda for several centuries. However, there are no known historical references to the name in ancient texts or religious scriptures from the region.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Jawanza is Jawanza Kunjufu, an American author and educational consultant born in 1951. He has written extensively on issues related to African-American education and has been a prominent figure in promoting cultural awareness in the classroom.
Another notable individual is Jawanza Eric Clark, an American singer-songwriter and record producer born in 1973. He is known for his work with various R&B and hip-hop artists, including Mary J. Blige and Puff Daddy.
In the world of sports, Jawanza Wilburn was a professional basketball player from the United States, born in 1981. He played in several European leagues and was known for his impressive defensive skills.
Jawanza Darnell Starling, born in 1978, is a former American football player who played as a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for several teams, including the Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Lastly, Jawanza Newsome, born in 1973, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He has appeared in various television shows and films, showcasing his comedic talents.
These individuals, spanning different fields and time periods, demonstrate the diverse range of people who have carried the name Jawanza throughout history.
People
Jawanza + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jawanza 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
Jawanza: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jawanza?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 197 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jawanza 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 1,739,870 US residents.
Is Jawanza a common name?
We classify Jawanza as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 206 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jawanza most popular?
The single biggest year for Jawanza was 1993, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jawanza is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jawanza in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 229 people with the name Jawanza, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,223 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 Jawanza 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 Jawanza?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jawanza leans strongly male. 201 people counted with this name were male (88.2%), compared with 27 female bearers (11.8%). 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 Jawanza?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jawanza is Black at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and White (2.6%). 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 Jawanza most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jawanza in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (209 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 Jawanza in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jawanza a male name?
Yes, 97.6% of people registered as Jawanza 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 Jawanza still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jawanza 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 Jawanza 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 have Jawanza as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.