Ladaja
A feminine name of African American origin, potentially meaning "loved baby".
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the first name Ladaja. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ladaja today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ladaja births was 1999 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ladaja. 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
123
~ 1 in 2,786,621 Americans
Peak year
1999
23 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2012 SSA rank
#18,344
Tracked since 1992
Census
Ladaja in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 107 people with the first name Ladaja, which placed it at #52,420 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
#52,420
National first-name rank
People counted
107
107 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ladaja
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ladaja is Black at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Ladaja 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 Ladaja at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.5% · 100
- Two or more races6.5% · 7
Popularity
Ladaja: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ladaja from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 70 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
Ladaja 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 Ladaja 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 Ladaja
The name Ladaja is believed to have originated from the Slavic languages, specifically Polish or Czech, in the late medieval period around the 15th or 16th century. It is thought to be a diminutive form derived from the Slavic root name Lada, which means "beloved" or "dear one." The suffix "-ja" was commonly added to form affectionate or diminutive versions of names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ladaja can be found in historical records from the region of Silesia, which was part of the Kingdom of Bohemia during the 15th century. The name appears to have gained popularity among the nobility and upper classes in this area before spreading to other parts of Central and Eastern Europe.
In terms of historical references, the name Ladaja is not widely mentioned in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, there are a few notable individuals who bore this name throughout history. One example is Ladaja Dembińska (1768-1835), a Polish noblewoman and landowner who was known for her philanthropy and support of education in her region.
Another historical figure with the name Ladaja was Ladaja Zaleski (1825-1888), a Polish-born writer and journalist who lived in France and was active in the literary circles of Paris during the 19th century. She was known for her novels and essays that explored themes of love, societal norms, and the role of women in her time.
In the 20th century, one notable bearer of the name Ladaja was Ladaja Kowalska (1914-1996), a Polish resistance fighter during World War II. She was part of the Polish Underground State and participated in several covert operations against the Nazi occupation forces. After the war, she continued her activism and advocated for women's rights and social justice.
Moving further into the 20th century, Ladaja Novakova (1935-2018) was a Czech artist and sculptor who gained recognition for her abstract and modern works. Her sculptures can be found in public spaces and galleries throughout the Czech Republic and other parts of Europe.
Finally, Ladaja Dimitrova (1948-2022) was a Bulgarian opera singer and soprano who performed on prestigious stages around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She was celebrated for her powerful voice and interpretations of classic operatic roles.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Ladaja, showcasing its presence and use across various cultures and time periods, primarily in Central and Eastern Europe.
People
Ladaja + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ladaja as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ladaja: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ladaja?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 123 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ladaja 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 2,786,621 US residents.
Is Ladaja a common name?
We classify Ladaja as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 126 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ladaja most popular?
The single biggest year for Ladaja was 1999, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ladaja is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ladaja in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 107 people with the name Ladaja, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,420 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 Ladaja 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 Ladaja?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ladaja leans strongly female. 113 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Ladaja?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ladaja is Black at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Ladaja most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ladaja in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (100 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 Ladaja in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ladaja a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ladaja 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 Ladaja still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ladaja 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 Ladaja 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 Ladaja?
Want to know how many people share the name Ladaja? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.