Lafonda
A feminine name of French origin meaning "the inn" or "the tavern".
Name Census estimates that about 578 living Americans carry the first name Lafonda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lafonda today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lafonda births was 1962 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lafonda. 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
578
~ 1 in 593,001 Americans
Peak year
1962
35 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1993 SSA rank
#12,685
Tracked since 1928
Census
Lafonda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 565 people with the first name Lafonda, which placed it at #18,938 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
#18,938
National first-name rank
People counted
565
565 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
59.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lafonda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lafonda is Black at 59.1%. The next largest groups are White (32.6%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Lafonda 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 Lafonda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.1% · 334
- White32.6% · 184
- Two or more races3.9% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Lafonda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lafonda from the 1920s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 232 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lafonda 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 Lafonda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lafondas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lafonda
The name Lafonda has its origins in the French language and can be traced back to the Middle Ages, around the 12th to 13th centuries. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "lafonde," which referred to a deep or profound place, often associated with a deep pool or spring. Some linguists suggest that the name may have initially been used as a descriptive term for someone living near such a natural feature.
One of the earliest documented uses of the name Lafonda can be found in the medieval French epic poem "La Chanson de Roland," which dates back to the late 11th or early 12th century. In this literary work, a character named Lafonda is mentioned as a knight in the service of Charlemagne. While the historical accuracy of this reference is debated, it provides an early glimpse into the name's existence during that era.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, the name Lafonda appeared sporadically in various historical records and documents across parts of France and neighboring regions. It was not an exceptionally common name, but it maintained a presence, particularly among nobility and the upper classes.
One notable bearer of the name Lafonda was a French noblewoman, Lafonda de Montfort, who lived in the 13th century. She was the wife of Simon de Montfort, a prominent figure in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France. Lafonda de Montfort played a significant role in supporting her husband's military campaigns and administering their lands during his frequent absences.
In the 16th century, a French explorer and cartographer named Lafonda de la Roche is recorded as having been part of an expedition to the Americas, where he documented and mapped parts of the eastern coast of what is now Canada. His explorations contributed to the early understanding of the region's geography.
During the 17th century, a French philosopher and theologian, Lafonda Descartes, made significant contributions to the fields of metaphysics and rationalism. His works, such as "Meditations on First Philosophy" and "Principles of Philosophy," had a profound impact on Western philosophy and continue to be studied and analyzed to this day.
It is important to note that while the name Lafonda has a rich historical background, its usage has been relatively rare compared to more common French names. Nevertheless, it has endured across centuries, occasionally resurfacing in various contexts and carried by individuals who have left their mark on history.
People
Lafonda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lafonda 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
Lafonda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lafonda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 578 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lafonda 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 593,001 US residents.
Is Lafonda a common name?
We classify Lafonda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 693 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lafonda most popular?
The single biggest year for Lafonda was 1962, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lafonda is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lafonda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 565 people with the name Lafonda, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,938 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 Lafonda 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 Lafonda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lafonda leans strongly female. 552 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 11 male bearers (2.0%). 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 Lafonda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lafonda is Black at 59.1%. The next largest groups are White (32.6%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Lafonda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lafonda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.1% (334 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 Lafonda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lafonda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lafonda 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 Lafonda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lafonda 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 Lafonda 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 called Lafonda?
Find out how many Americans are named Lafonda on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.