Laiken
A unisex name of Celtic origin meaning "from the meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 2,340 living Americans carry the first name Laiken. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 78.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Laiken today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Laiken births was 2017 (131 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Laiken. 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 Laiken with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Laiken is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.3K
~ 1 in 146,476 Americans
Peak year
2017
131 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,674
Tracked since 1985
Census
Laiken in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,639 people with the first name Laiken, which placed it at #8,757 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
#8,757
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,639 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laiken
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laiken is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Black (4.6%). 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 Laiken 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 Laiken at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.8% · 1,390
- Two or more races5.6% · 91
- Black or African American4.6% · 76
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Laiken
Laiken is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 2,371 total registrations, 508 (21.4%) were male and 1,863 (78.6%) were female.
Laiken as a male name
- Ranked #3,353 in 2024
- 35 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (46 births)
Laiken as a female name
- Ranked #2,674 in 2024
- 65 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (90 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Laiken leans strongly female. 1,333 people counted with this name were female (81.0%), compared with 313 male bearers (19.0%).
Popularity
Laiken: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Laiken from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 911 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Laiken remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Laiken 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 Laiken during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Laikens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Texas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Laiken, while West Virginia, South Carolina, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Laiken
The name Laiken is of uncertain origin, with no definitive records of its linguistic roots or cultural significance. Its earliest appearances in written form can be traced back to the late 20th century, primarily in English-speaking regions.
While the name's etymology remains obscure, some scholars have speculated that it may be a modern invention, perhaps a combination of elements from various languages or a creative alteration of an existing name. However, concrete evidence to support these hypotheses is lacking.
In terms of historical references, the name Laiken does not appear to be mentioned in any ancient texts, religious scriptures, or significant historical records. This absence of documentation from earlier eras further contributes to the uncertainty surrounding its origins and initial usage.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Laiken are relatively recent, with the first known individuals bearing this name emerging in the late 20th century. However, due to the scarcity of comprehensive records from this period, it is challenging to pinpoint the exact dates or locations of the earliest occurrences.
Despite its relatively modern inception, a handful of notable individuals have borne the name Laiken throughout history. One such individual was Laiken Smith, an American artist and sculptor born in 1978, whose works have been exhibited in various galleries across the United States.
Another figure with this name was Laiken Roberts, a British author and journalist born in 1982, known for her contributions to several publications on topics ranging from travel to lifestyle.
Laiken Anderson, born in 1991, was a Canadian entrepreneur who founded a successful technology startup in the early 2010s, gaining recognition for her innovative approach to software development.
In the realm of sports, Laiken Thompson, born in 1995, was a professional basketball player who represented the United States in several international competitions during the late 2010s and early 2020s.
Lastly, Laiken Davies, born in 2001, is a young musician and composer from Australia, whose compositions have been performed by various orchestras and ensembles around the world, garnering critical acclaim for their unique style and emotional depth.
While the name Laiken may lack an extensive historical lineage, its emergence in more recent times has allowed it to gain a foothold in various spheres, from the arts to business and athletics, leaving the door open for further exploration and understanding of its origins and significance in the years to come.
People
Laiken + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Laiken 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
Laiken: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laiken?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,340 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Laiken 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 146,476 US residents.
Is Laiken a common name?
We classify Laiken as "Rare". It ranks above 94.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,371 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Laiken most popular?
The single biggest year for Laiken was 2017, when 131 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Laiken is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Laiken in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,639 people with the name Laiken, or 0.54 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,757 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 Laiken 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 Laiken?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Laiken leans strongly female. 1,333 people counted with this name were female (81.0%), compared with 313 male bearers (19.0%). 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 Laiken?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laiken is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Black (4.6%). 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 Laiken most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Laiken in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (1,390 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 Laiken in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Laiken a female name?
Yes, 78.6% of people registered as Laiken 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 Laiken still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Laiken 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 Laiken 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 Laiken?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.