Jua
An Indonesian feminine name meaning "jewel" or "precious stone".
Name Census estimates that about 27 living Americans carry the first name Jua. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 71.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Jua today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jua births was 1985 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jua. 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 Jua. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
27
~ 1 in 12,694,605 Americans
Peak year
1985
8 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
1986 SSA rank
#5,633
Tracked since 1976
Census
Jua in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 462 people with the first name Jua, which placed it at #21,817 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
#21,817
National first-name rank
People counted
462
462 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
61.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jua
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jua is Hispanic at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.7%) and Black (10.8%). 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 Jua 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 Jua at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino61.5% · 284
- Asian and Pacific Islander22.7% · 105
- Black or African American10.8% · 50
- White3.5% · 16
- Two or more races1.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Jua
Jua is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 28 total registrations, 20 (71.4%) were male and 8 (28.6%) were female.
Jua as a male name
- Ranked #5,633 in 1986
- 7 male births in 1986
- Peak: 1985 (8 births)
Jua as a female name
- Ranked #11,840 in 2019
- 8 female births in 2019
- Peak: 2019 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Jua on both sides of the split. Of the 464 people counted with this name, 338 were male (72.8%) and 126 were female (27.2%).
Popularity
Jua: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jua from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 15 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Jua remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jua 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 Jua 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 Jua
The name Jua is believed to have originated from the Swahili language, which is spoken primarily in East Africa. The name itself means "sun" or "sunshine" in Swahili, reflecting the cultural significance of the sun in various African traditions.
In ancient times, the sun was revered as a source of life and warmth, and was often associated with deities and spiritual beliefs. The name Jua may have been inspired by this reverence for the sun, and was likely given to children as a symbol of hope, light, and prosperity.
While there are no definitive historical records of the name's earliest usage, it is believed to have been in circulation for centuries among the Swahili-speaking communities of East Africa. The name's popularity may have been influenced by the spread of Swahili culture and trade routes across the region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jua can be found in the writings of the renowned 19th century Swahili poet and scholar, Jua Mwana Kikongo, who was born in Zanzibar around 1820. His poetry and literary works are considered among the finest examples of Swahili literature and have greatly influenced the language and culture.
Another notable figure with the name Jua was Jua Kali, a prominent Kenyan entrepreneur and businessman who lived in the early 20th century. He is credited with pioneering the informal sector in Kenya, which became known as the "Jua Kali" sector, providing employment and livelihoods for many.
In the field of music, Jua Cali was a Kenyan rapper and songwriter who gained popularity in the early 2000s. His music often addressed social and political issues, and he was known for his unique blend of traditional Swahili rhythms and contemporary hip-hop.
Jua Sali, a Tanzanian writer and poet, made significant contributions to the literary landscape of his country in the mid-20th century. His works explored themes of identity, love, and cultural heritage, and he is regarded as one of the most influential poets of his generation.
Lastly, Jua Mwezi was a revered traditional healer and spiritual leader among the Maasai people of East Africa in the late 19th century. He was known for his deep knowledge of medicinal plants and his ability to connect with the spiritual realm, earning him great respect within his community.
People
Jua + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jua 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
Jua: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jua?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 27 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jua 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 12,694,605 US residents.
Is Jua a common name?
We classify Jua as "Very Rare". It ranks above 44.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jua most popular?
The single biggest year for Jua was 1985, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jua is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jua in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 462 people with the name Jua, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,817 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 Jua 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 Jua?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Jua on both sides of the split. Of the 464 people counted with this name, 338 were male (72.8%) and 126 were female (27.2%). 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 Jua?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jua is Hispanic at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.7%) and Black (10.8%). 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 Jua most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Jua in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.5% (284 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 Jua in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jua a male name?
Yes, 71.4% of people registered as Jua 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 Jua still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jua 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 Jua 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 share the name Jua?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.