Laia
An Old Germanic feminine name derived from the word meaning "linden tree".
Name Census estimates that about 1,037 living Americans carry the first name Laia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Laia today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Laia births was 2022 (130 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Laia. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Laia with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Laia is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 8 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 330,525 Americans
Peak year
2022
130 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,056
Tracked since 1980
Census
Laia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 632 people with the first name Laia, which placed it at #17,453 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
#17,453
National first-name rank
People counted
632
632 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
51.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laia is Hispanic at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Black (23.3%) and White (20.3%). 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 Laia 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 Laia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino51.1% · 323
- Black or African American23.3% · 147
- White20.3% · 128
- Two or more races3.3% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Laia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Laia from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 494 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Laia 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 Laia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Laias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. New York, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Laia, while Michigan, Maryland, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Laia
Laia is a feminine given name of Catalan origin, derived from the Latin name Eulalia. It first emerged in the regions of Catalonia and Valencia in Spain during the medieval period.
The name Eulalia itself has Greek roots, with the elements "eu" meaning "well" and "lalia" meaning "speech" or "eloquence." It was a popular name among early Christian martyrs, with Saint Eulalia of Mérida being one of the most well-known figures associated with this name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Laia can be found in the 13th-century Catalan epic poem "Libre dels fets del rei en Jaume," which chronicles the life of King James I of Aragon. The poem mentions a character named Laia, suggesting the name's usage during that time.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Laia. One of the most prominent was Laia Santamaría Ventura (1818-1880), a Spanish nun and founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Virgin Mary. She is renowned for her work in education and care for the underprivileged.
Another historical figure was Laia Manresa (1904-1976), a Catalan poet and writer who played a significant role in the Catalan literary movement of the early 20th century. Her works often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
In the realm of music, Laia Genc (born 1976) is a Spanish singer and songwriter known for her fusion of traditional Catalan folk music with contemporary styles. Her albums have garnered critical acclaim and contributed to the preservation of Catalan cultural heritage.
Moving to the arts, Laia Abril (born 1986) is a renowned Spanish documentary photographer and artist. Her powerful and thought-provoking works have addressed topics such as gender violence, eating disorders, and the representation of women in society.
Finally, Laia Sanz (born 1985) is a Spanish motorcycle and rally raid rider who has achieved numerous victories and records in off-road racing competitions. She is considered a pioneer in her field and has inspired many young women to pursue their dreams in motorsports.
People
Laia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Laia 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
Laia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,037 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Laia 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 330,525 US residents.
Is Laia a common name?
We classify Laia as "Rare". It ranks above 90.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,045 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Laia most popular?
The single biggest year for Laia was 2022, when 130 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Laia is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Laia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 632 people with the name Laia, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,453 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 Laia 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 Laia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Laia appears almost entirely female. Of the 632 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Laia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laia is Hispanic at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Black (23.3%) and White (20.3%). 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 Laia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Laia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.1% (323 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 Laia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Laia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Laia 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 Laia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Laia 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 Laia 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 Laia as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Laia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.