Paraskevi
Of Greek origin, meaning "the eve of Friday".
Name Census estimates that about 258 living Americans carry the first name Paraskevi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Paraskevi today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Paraskevi births was 2005 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Paraskevi. 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 Paraskevi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
258
~ 1 in 1,328,505 Americans
Peak year
2005
13 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2023 SSA rank
#14,724
Tracked since 1968
Census
Paraskevi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 653 people with the first name Paraskevi, which placed it at #17,051 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
#17,051
National first-name rank
People counted
653
653 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
97.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paraskevi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Paraskevi is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.1%) and Two or More Races (1.1%). 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 Paraskevi 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 Paraskevi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.9% · 639
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 7
- Two or more races1.1% · 7
Popularity
Paraskevi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Paraskevi from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 63 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Paraskevi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Paraskevi 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 Paraskevi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Paraskevis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Paraskevi
The given name Paraskevi has its origins in the Greek language and culture, and it can be traced back to ancient times. The name is derived from the Greek word "Paraskevi," which means "Friday" or "preparation day," referring to the day before the Sabbath in the Christian tradition.
In Greek mythology, Paraskevi was associated with the goddess of wisdom and knowledge, Athena. The name was often given to girls born on Friday, as it was considered an auspicious day in Greek culture. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the Byzantine era, around the 5th century AD.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Paraskevi was Saint Paraskeva of Rome, a Christian martyr who lived in the 2nd century AD. She is revered in the Eastern Orthodox Church and has several churches named after her in various parts of Eastern Europe and Russia.
Another notable figure was Paraskevi Pitsou (1838-1911), a Greek feminist and writer who advocated for women's rights and education in the late 19th century. She played a significant role in the establishment of the first girls' school in Athens.
In the 20th century, Paraskevi Avgerinou (1898-1973) was a Greek painter and sculptor known for her contributions to the modernist art movement in Greece. Her works are exhibited in various museums and galleries around the world.
Paraskevi Oprandy (1903-1976) was a Greek-American actress and dancer who appeared in several Broadway productions and Hollywood films during the 1920s and 1930s. She was also known for her philanthropic efforts in support of Greek-American organizations.
Paraskevi Patoulidou (1900-1992) was a renowned Greek actress who starred in numerous Greek films and theater productions throughout her career, spanning over six decades. She is considered a pioneering figure in modern Greek cinema.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who bore the name Paraskevi throughout history, showcasing its rich cultural heritage and significance in the Greek tradition.
People
Paraskevi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Paraskevi 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
Paraskevi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Paraskevi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 258 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Paraskevi 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 1,328,505 US residents.
Is Paraskevi a common name?
We classify Paraskevi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 271 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Paraskevi most popular?
The single biggest year for Paraskevi was 2005, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Paraskevi is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Paraskevi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 653 people with the name Paraskevi, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,051 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 Paraskevi 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 Paraskevi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Paraskevi appears almost entirely female. Of the 657 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Paraskevi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Paraskevi is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.1%) and Two or More Races (1.1%). 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 Paraskevi most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Paraskevi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.9% (639 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 Paraskevi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Paraskevi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Paraskevi 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 Paraskevi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Paraskevi 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 Paraskevi 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 Paraskevi?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.