Lavenia
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "woman from Rome".
Name Census estimates that about 614 living Americans carry the first name Lavenia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lavenia today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lavenia births was 1920 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lavenia. 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
614
~ 1 in 558,232 Americans
Peak year
1920
36 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
2018 SSA rank
#12,029
Tracked since 1880
Census
Lavenia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 721 people with the first name Lavenia, which placed it at #15,828 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
#15,828
National first-name rank
People counted
721
721 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
44.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lavenia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lavenia is Black at 44.8%. The next largest groups are White (40.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). 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 Lavenia 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 Lavenia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American44.8% · 323
- White40.8% · 294
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 40
- Two or more races3.1% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.9% · 21
Popularity
Lavenia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lavenia from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 291 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lavenia 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 Lavenia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lavenias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Illinois recorded the most babies named Lavenia, while South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lavenia
The name Lavenia is believed to have its origins in the Latin language, derived from the word "lavare," which means "to wash" or "to bathe." This connection suggests that the name may have been initially associated with concepts of purity, cleanliness, or renewal.
Lavenia can be traced back to ancient Roman times, where it was likely used as a feminine form of the name Lavenius. However, historical records of its earliest usage are scarce, and its precise origin is somewhat uncertain.
One notable historical reference to the name Lavenia comes from Roman mythology. In ancient Roman religion, Laverna was the goddess of thieves, fraudsters, and the underworld. She was believed to protect those who engaged in dishonest activities, and her name may have derived from the Latin word "latere," meaning "to lie hidden."
The earliest recorded example of the name Lavenia can be found in the 16th century. Lavenia Fontana, an Italian Renaissance painter born in 1552, is considered one of the first professional female artists in Western Europe. Her works, including portraits and religious scenes, are renowned for their technical mastery and attention to detail.
Another historical figure bearing the name Lavenia was Lavenia Miln (1728-1818), a Scottish writer and composer. She is best known for her poetry and songs, which reflected the cultural and social themes of her time.
In the 19th century, Lavenia Goodwin (1822-1898) was an American author and editor. She wrote several novels and edited a literary magazine called "The Home Circle." Goodwin was also an advocate for women's rights and played a significant role in the early feminist movement.
Lavenia Dock (1858-1956) was an American nurse and pioneer in the field of nursing education. She was instrumental in establishing nursing as a recognized profession and helped establish standards for nursing education and practice.
Another notable figure with the name Lavenia is Lavenia Torczon (1908-1986), a Polish-American mathematician and computer scientist. She made significant contributions to the field of numerical analysis and optimization algorithms, paving the way for advancements in computational mathematics.
While the name Lavenia may have ancient roots and historical connections, it has evolved over time and has been adopted by individuals from various cultures and backgrounds, each adding their unique stories and interpretations to the name's rich tapestry.
People
Lavenia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lavenia 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
Lavenia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lavenia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 614 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lavenia 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 558,232 US residents.
Is Lavenia a common name?
We classify Lavenia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,691 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lavenia most popular?
The single biggest year for Lavenia was 1920, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lavenia is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lavenia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 721 people with the name Lavenia, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,828 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 Lavenia 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 Lavenia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lavenia appears almost entirely female. Of the 717 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Lavenia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lavenia is Black at 44.8%. The next largest groups are White (40.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). 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 Lavenia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lavenia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.8% (323 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 Lavenia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lavenia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lavenia 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 Lavenia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lavenia 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 Lavenia 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 Lavenia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.