Lavania
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly from Sanskrit meaning "blueish purple".
Name Census estimates that about 15 living Americans carry the first name Lavania. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lavania today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lavania births was 1914 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lavania. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Lavania is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lavanias were born before 1963.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lavania. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
15
~ 1 in 22,850,289 Americans
Peak year
1914
7 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1969 SSA rank
#8,080
Tracked since 1914
Census
Lavania in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 115 people with the first name Lavania, which placed it at #51,185 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
#51,185
National first-name rank
People counted
115
115 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
45.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lavania
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lavania is Black at 45.2%. The next largest groups are White (33.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.8%). 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 Lavania 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 Lavania at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American45.2% · 52
- White33.9% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.8% · 9
- Two or more races7.8% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Popularity
Lavania: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lavania from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 13 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lavania 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 Lavania 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 Lavania
The name Lavania has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which originated in ancient India around 1500 BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "lavanya," which means "grace" or "beauty." The name is associated with the Hindu culture and religion, where physical and inner beauty are highly valued.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lavania can be found in the ancient Hindu texts, the Vedas, which date back to around 1500-500 BCE. In these sacred scriptures, the name is mentioned in the context of describing the beauty and grace of various deities and goddesses.
In the historical records of ancient India, there are several notable figures who bore the name Lavania. One such figure was Lavania Devi, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 8th century CE. She is known for her contributions to the field of literature and her mastery of the Sanskrit language.
Another prominent individual with the name Lavania was Lavania Kumari, a Rajput princess who ruled the princely state of Bharatpur in the early 19th century. She was known for her courage and leadership during a period of political turmoil in the region.
Moving forward in time, Lavania Gandhi was a significant figure in the Indian independence movement of the 20th century. Born in 1904, she was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and played an active role in the non-violent resistance against British rule.
In the realm of arts and culture, Lavania Rao was a celebrated classical dancer and choreographer from India. Born in 1920, she is credited with reviving and popularizing the classical dance form of Kathak, which had been in decline for many years.
Lastly, Lavania Mirzaa was a renowned Indian athlete who excelled in the sport of badminton. Born in 1993, she won numerous international tournaments and brought laurels to her country through her exceptional skills and dedication to the sport.
People
Lavania + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lavania 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
Lavania: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lavania?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lavania 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 22,850,289 US residents.
Is Lavania a common name?
We classify Lavania as "Very Rare". It ranks above 35.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 54 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lavania most popular?
The single biggest year for Lavania was 1914, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lavania is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lavania in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 115 people with the name Lavania, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,185 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 Lavania 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 Lavania?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lavania leans strongly female. 109 people counted with this name were female (95.6%), compared with 5 male bearers (4.4%). 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 Lavania?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lavania is Black at 45.2%. The next largest groups are White (33.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.8%). 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 Lavania most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lavania in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.2% (52 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 Lavania in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lavania a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lavania 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 Lavania still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lavania 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 Lavania 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 Lavania 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.