Lavanda
Of Latin origin, a feminine name meaning "to bathe" or "to wash".
Name Census estimates that about 312 living Americans carry the first name Lavanda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lavanda today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lavanda births was 1972 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lavanda. 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
312
~ 1 in 1,098,572 Americans
Peak year
1972
21 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
1993 SSA rank
#11,245
Tracked since 1921
Census
Lavanda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 346 people with the first name Lavanda, which placed it at #26,749 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
#26,749
National first-name rank
People counted
346
346 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
51.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lavanda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lavanda is Black at 51.7%. The next largest groups are White (43.6%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Lavanda 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 Lavanda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.7% · 179
- White43.6% · 151
- Two or more races3.8% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 3
Popularity
Lavanda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lavanda from the 1920s through to the 1990s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 96 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lavanda 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 Lavanda 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 Lavanda
The name Lavanda is derived from the Latin word "lavandula," which means "lavender." The term lavandula itself comes from the root word "lavare," meaning "to wash." This connection to lavender likely stems from the ancient use of the plant for fragrance and purification rituals.
The earliest recorded use of the name Lavanda dates back to the Middle Ages in parts of Europe, particularly in Italy and France. During this time, lavender was highly valued for its calming aroma and was often used in religious ceremonies and to scent clothing and linens.
One of the earliest known mentions of the name Lavanda can be found in a 13th-century Italian text, "Il Decamerone," written by Giovanni Boccaccio. In this work, a character named Lavanda is described as a young woman with a delicate and soothing presence, perhaps alluding to the fragrance and properties of the lavender plant.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Lavanda. In the 16th century, Lavanda de' Medici (1515-1553) was a member of the powerful Medici family in Florence, Italy. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of renowned artists like Michelangelo.
Another prominent figure was Lavanda Borghese (1590-1654), an Italian noblewoman and member of the influential Borghese family. She was a patron of the arts and played a significant role in the cultural and artistic renaissance of Rome during the early 17th century.
In the 18th century, Lavanda Grimaldi (1714-1793) was a member of the noble Grimaldi family of Monaco. She was renowned for her beauty and her influential role in the social and political circles of her time.
Lavanda Montserrat (1825-1892) was a Spanish writer and activist who fought for women's rights and education. She was one of the first female authors to gain recognition in Spain and wrote several influential works on feminism and social reform.
Lastly, Lavanda Filipović (1888-1972) was a Serbian painter and one of the pioneers of modern art in her country. Her works, which often featured lavender fields and landscapes, were celebrated for their vibrant colors and avant-garde style.
While the name Lavanda may have originated from the humble lavender plant, it has been borne by numerous influential figures throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and cultures.
People
Lavanda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lavanda 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
Lavanda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lavanda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 312 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lavanda 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 1,098,572 US residents.
Is Lavanda a common name?
We classify Lavanda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 441 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lavanda most popular?
The single biggest year for Lavanda was 1972, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lavanda is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lavanda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 346 people with the name Lavanda, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,749 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 Lavanda 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 Lavanda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lavanda leans strongly female. 324 people counted with this name were female (91.0%), compared with 32 male bearers (9.0%). 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 Lavanda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lavanda is Black at 51.7%. The next largest groups are White (43.6%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Lavanda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lavanda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.7% (179 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 Lavanda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lavanda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lavanda 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 Lavanda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lavanda 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 Lavanda 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 Americans are named Lavanda?
Want to know how many Americans are named Lavanda? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.