Lakendra
A feminine name derived from the French words "lac" and "rendre", signifying "to return to the lake".
Name Census estimates that about 2,185 living Americans carry the first name Lakendra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lakendra today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lakendra births was 1987 (177 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lakendra. 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
2.2K
~ 1 in 156,867 Americans
Peak year
1987
177 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2020 SSA rank
#16,450
Tracked since 1970
Census
Lakendra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,701 people with the first name Lakendra, which placed it at #8,520 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
#8,520
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,701 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lakendra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakendra is Black at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and White (2.1%). 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 Lakendra 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 Lakendra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.6% · 1,609
- Two or more races2.3% · 39
- White2.1% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Lakendra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lakendra from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 968 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lakendra 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 Lakendra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lakendras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Texas, Alabama, Georgia recorded the most babies named Lakendra, while Maryland, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 81 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lakendra
Lakendra is a feminine given name derived from the Sanskrit language, which traces its origins back to ancient India. It is believed to have emerged during the classical period of Indian history, between the 3rd century BCE and the 8th century CE.
The name Lakendra is a combination of two Sanskrit words, "Lak" meaning "to perceive" or "to observe," and "Indra," which is the name of the Hindu god of rain, thunder, and war. Together, the name can be interpreted to mean "one who perceives or observes like Indra," suggesting a connection to wisdom, perception, and divine qualities.
While the name does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its Sanskrit roots align with the rich cultural and linguistic heritage of the Indian subcontinent. The earliest recorded instances of the name Lakendra can be traced back to the medieval period in India, where it was likely used by families with connections to Hindu traditions and mythological narratives.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lakendra. One of the earliest recorded examples is Lakendra Devi (1501-1564), a princess from the Rajput dynasty in Rajasthan, India, who was known for her patronage of the arts and literature.
Another notable figure was Lakendra Singh (1677-1743), a Maratha warrior and military leader who played a significant role in the expansion of the Maratha Empire in the 18th century.
In more recent times, Lakendra Simmons (1924-2001) was an American civil rights activist and educator who dedicated her life to promoting racial equality and improving educational opportunities for marginalized communities.
Lakendra Ramkissoon (1957-2020) was a prominent feminist scholar and writer from Trinidad and Tobago, whose works explored themes of gender, identity, and postcolonial studies.
Lakendra Djayasinga (born 1985) is a contemporary Indonesian artist and sculptor known for her intricate and thought-provoking installations that blend traditional techniques with modern concepts.
People
Lakendra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lakendra 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
Lakendra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lakendra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,185 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lakendra 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 156,867 US residents.
Is Lakendra a common name?
We classify Lakendra as "Rare". It ranks above 94% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,289 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lakendra most popular?
The single biggest year for Lakendra was 1987, when 177 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lakendra is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lakendra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,701 people with the name Lakendra, or 0.56 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,520 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 Lakendra 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 Lakendra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lakendra appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,695 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Lakendra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakendra is Black at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and White (2.1%). 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 Lakendra most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lakendra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.6% (1,609 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 Lakendra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lakendra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lakendra 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 Lakendra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lakendra 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 Lakendra 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 Lakendra as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.