Panayiota
A feminine Greek name meaning "all-holy" or "all-revered".
Name Census estimates that about 109 living Americans carry the first name Panayiota. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Panayiota today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Panayiota births was 2001 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Panayiota. 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 Panayiota with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
109
~ 1 in 3,144,535 Americans
Peak year
2001
10 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#17,029
Tracked since 1974
Census
Panayiota in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 270 people with the first name Panayiota, which placed it at #31,633 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
#31,633
National first-name rank
People counted
270
270 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
97.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Panayiota
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Panayiota is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.5%) and Hispanic (0.7%). 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 Panayiota 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 Panayiota at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.4% · 263
- Two or more races1.5% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Popularity
Panayiota: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Panayiota from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 32 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Panayiota 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 Panayiota during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Panayiotas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Panayiota
Panayiota is a Greek feminine given name derived from the Greek word "panagia" meaning "all-holy" or "most holy." It is believed to have originated in the Byzantine Empire, where it was a popular name among Christian Orthodox communities.
The name Panayiota has its roots in the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition, with a strong connection to the Virgin Mary, who is revered as the "Most Holy One" in the Orthodox faith. The name was likely bestowed upon girls as a way to honor and express devotion to the Virgin Mary.
Historically, the name Panayiota can be traced back to the 9th century, when it appeared in various Byzantine texts and manuscripts. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the hagiography (a biography of a saint) of Saint Panayiota of Nicomedia, a 3rd-century Christian martyr.
Throughout the centuries, several notable women have borne the name Panayiota. One of the most famous was Panayiota Ypsilanti (1857-1944), a Greek noblewoman and humanitarian who played a significant role in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire.
Another notable Panayiota was Panayiota Tsaldari (1887-1976), a Greek educator and feminist who worked tirelessly to improve women's access to education and promote gender equality in Greece.
In the realm of literature, Panayiota Dimitropoulou (1906-1992) was a prominent Greek writer and poet, known for her contributions to the modernist movement in Greek literature.
The name Panayiota has also found its way into the world of sports. Panayiota Kalogeropoulou (born 1966) is a former Greek Olympic swimmer who competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games.
Another notable figure was Panayiota Tzavella (1892-1976), a Greek actress and theater director who played a significant role in the development of modern Greek theater in the early 20th century.
While the name Panayiota has deep roots in Greek Orthodox Christian tradition, it has been embraced by people of various backgrounds and cultures throughout history, reflecting the enduring appeal and significance of this beautiful name.
People
Panayiota + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Panayiota as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Panayiota: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Panayiota?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 109 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Panayiota 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 3,144,535 US residents.
Is Panayiota a common name?
We classify Panayiota as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 112 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Panayiota most popular?
The single biggest year for Panayiota was 2001, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Panayiota is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Panayiota in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 270 people with the name Panayiota, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,633 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 Panayiota 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 Panayiota?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Panayiota appears almost entirely female. Of the 271 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 Panayiota?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Panayiota is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.5%) and Hispanic (0.7%). 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 Panayiota most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Panayiota in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (263 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 Panayiota in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Panayiota a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Panayiota 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 Panayiota still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Panayiota 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 Panayiota 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 share the name Panayiota?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.