Lakaya
A feminine name of Aboriginal origin meaning "river child".
Name Census estimates that about 176 living Americans carry the first name Lakaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lakaya today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lakaya births was 1994 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lakaya. 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 Lakaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
176
~ 1 in 1,947,468 Americans
Peak year
1994
17 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2017 SSA rank
#17,285
Tracked since 1979
Census
Lakaya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 195 people with the first name Lakaya, which placed it at #38,993 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
#38,993
National first-name rank
People counted
195
195 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
76.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lakaya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakaya is Black at 76.4%. The next largest groups are White (8.7%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Lakaya 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 Lakaya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American76.4% · 149
- White8.7% · 17
- Two or more races5.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.1% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 3
Popularity
Lakaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lakaya from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 84 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lakaya 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 Lakaya 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 Lakaya
The name Lakaya has its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language, dating back to the 2nd millennium BC in the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "lakshya," which means "aim" or "target." The name was initially given to children with the hope that they would achieve their goals and aspirations in life.
Lakaya found its way into various Indian texts and scriptures, including the Vedas and the Puranas. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Mahabharata, the ancient Indian epic poem. In this text, Lakaya was mentioned as the name of a warrior who fought bravely in the great battle of Kurukshetra.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Lakaya. One of the earliest was Lakaya Bhatta, a renowned Indian mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 7th century AD. He made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and is credited with developing advanced methods for calculating the positions of celestial bodies.
Another notable Lakaya was Lakaya Devi, a powerful queen who ruled over the Chalukya dynasty in the 11th century AD. She was known for her military prowess and her patronage of the arts and literature. Under her reign, the Chalukya kingdom experienced a golden age of cultural and economic prosperity.
In the 13th century, Lakaya Nath was a revered Hindu mystic and philosopher who gained fame for his teachings on the path to spiritual enlightenment. His writings and discourses attracted followers from across the Indian subcontinent, and he is still widely revered by many spiritual seekers today.
During the Mughal era in the 16th century, Lakaya Khan was a prominent military commander who served under the famous emperor Akbar. He played a crucial role in several military campaigns and was renowned for his strategic acumen and bravery on the battlefield.
In more recent times, Lakaya Naik was an Indian freedom fighter who participated in the struggle for independence from British rule in the early 20th century. She was an active member of the Indian National Congress and participated in numerous protests and civil disobedience movements.
While the name Lakaya has its roots in ancient India, it has transcended cultural and geographical boundaries and is now used in various parts of the world. The name continues to carry the essence of its original meaning, inspiring its bearers to aim high and achieve their goals in life.
People
Lakaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lakaya 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
Lakaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lakaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 176 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lakaya 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 1,947,468 US residents.
Is Lakaya a common name?
We classify Lakaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 181 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lakaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Lakaya was 1994, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lakaya 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 Lakaya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 195 people with the name Lakaya, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,993 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 Lakaya 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 Lakaya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lakaya leans strongly female. 198 people counted with this name were female (99.0%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.0%). 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 Lakaya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakaya is Black at 76.4%. The next largest groups are White (8.7%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Lakaya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lakaya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.4% (149 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 Lakaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lakaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lakaya 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 Lakaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lakaya 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 Lakaya 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 common is the name Lakaya?
See how many people share the name Lakaya on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.