Luana
A feminine Hawaiian name meaning "relaxed, at peace".
Name Census estimates that about 3,447 living Americans carry the first name Luana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Luana today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Luana births was 1947 (164 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Luana. 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 Luana with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.4K
~ 1 in 99,436 Americans
Peak year
1947
164 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,898
Tracked since 1911
Census
Luana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,365 people with the first name Luana, which placed it at #4,332 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
#4,332
National first-name rank
People counted
4.4K
4,365 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Luana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Luana is White at 60.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.9%) and Two or More Races (7.0%). 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 Luana 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 Luana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.3% · 2,634
- Hispanic or Latino19.9% · 869
- Two or more races7.0% · 304
- Black or African American6.2% · 269
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.7% · 250
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 39
Popularity
Luana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Luana from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 785 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1940s peak, Luana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Luana 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 Luana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Luanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. California, Florida, Hawaii recorded the most babies named Luana, while South Dakota, Oklahoma, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 89 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Luana
The name Luana is believed to have its origins in the Hawaiian language, where it is a feminine form of the name Luana, which means "relaxed" or "at peace." It is thought to have emerged as a popular name in Hawaii in the late 19th century, during a period of cultural revival and renewed interest in traditional Hawaiian names.
In Hawaiian culture, the name Luana is often associated with concepts of tranquility, serenity, and harmony with nature. It evokes images of gentle ocean breezes, swaying palm trees, and the laid-back island lifestyle that is so cherished in Hawaii.
While the name Luana has its roots in Hawaiian culture, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking countries. In Brazilian Portuguese, the name is sometimes spelled as "Luana" or "Luanna," with a slight variation in pronunciation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Luana can be found in the 1890 Hawaiian census records, where it appears as the name of a young girl born in the late 19th century. However, the name did not gain widespread popularity until the mid-20th century, when it began to appear more frequently in birth records and baby name books.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Luana. One of the most famous is Luana Piovani, a Brazilian actress and model born in 1976. Another is Luana Borgia, an Italian singer and songwriter born in 1969, known for her work in the pop and rock genres.
In the world of sports, Luana Pinheiro is a Brazilian beach volleyball player who has competed in multiple Olympic Games, including the 2016 Rio Olympics. Luana Muniz is a former Swedish tennis player who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 28 in the world in the late 1990s.
Finally, Luana Walters was an American actress and model who appeared in several films in the 1940s and 1950s, including the classic film noir "The Killers" in 1946.
While these are just a few examples, the name Luana has been borne by countless individuals throughout history, each adding their unique stories and accomplishments to the rich tapestry of this beautiful and peaceful name.
People
Luana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Luana 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
Luana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Luana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,447 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Luana 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 99,436 US residents.
Is Luana a common name?
We classify Luana as "Rare". It ranks above 95.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,783 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Luana most popular?
The single biggest year for Luana was 1947, when 164 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Luana is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Luana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,365 people with the name Luana, or 1.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,332 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 Luana 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 Luana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Luana appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,363 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Luana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Luana is White at 60.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.9%) and Two or More Races (7.0%). 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 Luana most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Luana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.3% (2,634 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 Luana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Luana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Luana 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 Luana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Luana 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 Luana 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 are named Luana?
Find out how many Americans are named Luana on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.