Laya
A name of Sanskrit origin meaning rhythm or melodic pattern.
Name Census estimates that about 1,934 living Americans carry the first name Laya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Laya today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Laya births was 2019 (106 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Laya. 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
- • Laya is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 177,226 Americans
Peak year
2019
106 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,140
Tracked since 1964
Popularity
Laya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Laya from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 881 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Laya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Laya 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 Laya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Layas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Laya, while Tennessee, Minnesota, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Laya
The name Laya is derived from the Sanskrit language and has its origins in ancient Indian culture. It is believed to have emerged around the 5th century BCE and is associated with the concept of rhythm or the cosmic dance of creation and destruction.
In Hindu mythology, Laya is often personified as a divine feminine force, representing the dissolving or merging of individual consciousness into the universal consciousness. The name is closely linked to the concept of "laya" in Indian classical music, which refers to the rhythmic patterns and the intricate interplay between different instruments and voices.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Laya can be found in the Upanishads, a collection of ancient Hindu philosophical texts. In the Katha Upanishad, the concept of "laya" is discussed in relation to the merging of the individual soul (Atman) with the supreme reality (Brahman).
Throughout history, the name Laya has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded examples is Laya, a 7th-century Indian philosopher and mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of astronomy and the study of planetary motions.
Another prominent figure with this name was Laya Devi, a 12th-century Hindu mystic and poet from Kashmir. She is renowned for her devotional poetry, which explored themes of divine love and spiritual transcendence.
In the realm of classical Indian dance, Laya Rajan (1920-2003) was a celebrated Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer. She was instrumental in reviving and promoting this ancient dance form, and her contributions were recognized with numerous awards and honors.
Laya Garen (1905-1985), an Armenian-American writer and activist, used her literary works to raise awareness about the Armenian Genocide and advocate for human rights.
More recently, Laya Joneydi (born 1983) is an Iranian-American artist and filmmaker known for her thought-provoking works that explore themes of identity, displacement, and cultural intersections.
While the name Laya has its roots in ancient Indian culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and continues to resonate with individuals from diverse backgrounds, drawn to its symbolic connections to rhythm, harmony, and the dissolution of boundaries.
People
Laya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Laya 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
Laya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,934 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Laya 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 177,226 US residents.
Is Laya a common name?
We classify Laya as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,963 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Laya most popular?
The single biggest year for Laya was 2019, when 106 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Laya is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Laya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Laya 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.
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.