Lamya
An Arabic name meaning "beautiful, captivating night black-haired woman".
Name Census estimates that about 2,006 living Americans carry the first name Lamya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lamya today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lamya births was 2007 (162 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lamya. 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 Lamya with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Lamya is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 170,865 Americans
Peak year
2007
162 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,656
Tracked since 1981
Census
Lamya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,664 people with the first name Lamya, which placed it at #8,666 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
#8,666
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,664 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
64.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lamya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lamya is Black at 64.1%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Two or More Races (9.4%). 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 Lamya 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 Lamya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American64.1% · 1,067
- White18.0% · 299
- Two or more races9.4% · 157
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 21
Popularity
Lamya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lamya from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,051 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
Lamya 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 Lamya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lamyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. Illinois, Michigan, Ohio recorded the most babies named Lamya, while Wisconsin, Delaware, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 40 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lamya
The given name Lamya has its origins in Arabic, originating from the ancient Semitic language family. It is derived from the Arabic word "lam'a," which means "a flash of light" or "brilliance." The name is believed to have been in use since ancient times in the Middle East and North Africa.
In Islamic tradition, Lamya is mentioned as one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad's wives. However, there is some debate among scholars about the authenticity of this claim.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lamya dates back to the 8th century, when it was mentioned in Arabic poetry and literature. Lamya bint Abi Dhu'ayb, a renowned Arab poetess from the 7th century, was known for her eloquence and her contributions to pre-Islamic Arabic poetry.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Lamya. Lamya al-Amiri (1175-1209) was a famous Andalusian poet and writer from Spain. Her works were widely admired and influenced the literary traditions of her time.
Lamya al-Ghul (1894-1982) was a prominent Lebanese novelist and activist. She was known for her efforts in promoting women's rights and her literary works that explored social and political issues.
Lamya Majed (born 1985) is a Kuwaiti actress and television personality. She has starred in several popular television shows and films in the Gulf region.
Lamya Mahmoud (born 1979) is an Egyptian singer and actress. She has released several successful albums and has appeared in various television series and movies.
Lamya Kaddor (born 1978) is a German scholar and social activist of Syrian descent. She is known for her work in promoting interfaith dialogue and addressing issues related to Islam in Europe.
The name Lamya has maintained its popularity across various cultures and regions, particularly in the Arab world and parts of Europe, where it is often chosen for its beautiful meaning and historical significance.
People
Lamya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lamya 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
Lamya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lamya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,006 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lamya 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 170,865 US residents.
Is Lamya a common name?
We classify Lamya as "Rare". It ranks above 93.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,032 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lamya most popular?
The single biggest year for Lamya was 2007, when 162 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lamya is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lamya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,664 people with the name Lamya, or 0.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,666 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 Lamya 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 Lamya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lamya appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,667 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Lamya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lamya is Black at 64.1%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Two or More Races (9.4%). 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 Lamya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lamya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.1% (1,067 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 Lamya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lamya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lamya 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 Lamya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lamya 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 Lamya 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 Lamya as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.