Lunda
An African name representing a large ethnic group inhabiting parts of DR Congo.
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Lunda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lunda today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lunda births was 1950 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lunda. 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 Lunda is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lundas were born before 1960.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lunda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1950
6 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1957 SSA rank
#6,654
Tracked since 1912
Census
Lunda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 179 people with the first name Lunda, which placed it at #41,133 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
#41,133
National first-name rank
People counted
179
179 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lunda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lunda is White at 63.7%. The next largest groups are Black (23.5%) and Hispanic (7.3%). 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 Lunda 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 Lunda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.7% · 114
- Black or African American23.5% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 6
- Two or more races2.2% · 4
Popularity
Lunda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lunda from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 11 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
Lunda 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 Lunda 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 Lunda
The name Lunda has its origins in the Lunda people, an ethnic group primarily found in the southern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the northern part of Angola. The name is believed to have originated during the 16th century when the Lunda Empire, a pre-colonial state, was at its peak.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Lunda can be found in the historical accounts of Portuguese explorers who encountered the Lunda Empire during their expeditions in the region. The name is thought to be derived from the word "lunda," which in the Lunda language refers to the act of governing or ruling.
In the 17th century, a Lunda ruler named Lunda Ilunga is mentioned in various historical texts as one of the most influential leaders of the empire. He is credited with expanding the Lunda Empire's territory and establishing a centralized system of governance. Lunda Ilunga's reign is considered a significant period in the history of the Lunda people.
Another notable figure bearing the name Lunda was Lunda Quiluanje, a 19th-century ruler of the Lunda Empire. Quiluanje is remembered for his efforts to maintain the independence and sovereignty of the Lunda Kingdom in the face of colonial encroachment by the Portuguese.
In more recent times, Lunda has been used as a given name in various parts of Africa, particularly in regions with historical ties to the Lunda Empire. One notable bearer of the name was Lunda Bululu, a Congolese politician and activist who played a crucial role in the independence movement of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the mid-20th century.
Additionally, Lunda Mpemba, a Congolese painter and sculptor born in 1951, has gained recognition for his artistic contributions and his depiction of traditional Lunda culture through his works.
Throughout history, the name Lunda has been associated with the rich cultural heritage of the Lunda people and their historical achievements as a powerful empire in Central Africa. Its meaning and significance are deeply rooted in the traditions and values of this ethnic group.
People
Lunda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lunda 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
Lunda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lunda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lunda 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Lunda a common name?
We classify Lunda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lunda most popular?
The single biggest year for Lunda was 1950, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lunda is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lunda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 179 people with the name Lunda, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,133 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 Lunda 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 Lunda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lunda leans strongly female. 156 people counted with this name were female (88.6%), compared with 20 male bearers (11.4%). 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 Lunda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lunda is White at 63.7%. The next largest groups are Black (23.5%) and Hispanic (7.3%). 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 Lunda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lunda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.7% (114 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 Lunda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lunda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lunda 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 Lunda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lunda 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 Lunda 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 common is the name Lunda?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.