Paytan
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "poetess" or "poetic one".
Name Census estimates that about 174 living Americans carry the first name Paytan. It is a predominantly female name (96.0% of registrations). The average person named Paytan today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Paytan births was 2009 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Paytan. 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.
People living today
174
~ 1 in 1,969,853 Americans
Peak year
2009
27 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2009 SSA rank
#10,678
Tracked since 1996
Census
Paytan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 205 people with the first name Paytan, which placed it at #37,817 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
#37,817
National first-name rank
People counted
205
205 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paytan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Paytan is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.3%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Paytan 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 Paytan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.0% · 160
- Black or African American9.3% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 13
- Two or more races3.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Paytan
Paytan leans heavily female at 96.0% of total registrations, but 7 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Paytan as a male name
- Ranked #10,678 in 2009
- 7 male births in 2009
- Peak: 2009 (7 births)
Paytan as a female name
- Ranked #15,770 in 2016
- 6 female births in 2016
- Peak: 2009 (20 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Paytan leans strongly female. 181 people counted with this name were female (85.0%), compared with 32 male bearers (15.0%).
Popularity
Paytan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Paytan from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 110 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Paytan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Paytan 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 Paytan 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 Paytan
The name Paytan originates from the Hebrew language and culture, with roots dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "pittan," which means "simple" or "plain." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with humility, modesty, or a straightforward way of life.
In early Jewish texts and scriptures, the name Paytan is not explicitly mentioned. However, some scholars speculate that it may be related to the Hebrew word "pitom," which appears in the Book of Exodus and refers to the simplicity or plainness of the desert landscape.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Paytan date back to the Middle Ages, particularly among Jewish communities in the Mediterranean region and the Iberian Peninsula. During this period, the name was commonly used as a nickname or a surname before being adopted as a given name.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Paytan was Rabbi Judah Halevi (c. 1075-1141), a renowned Spanish Jewish philosopher, poet, and physician. His works, such as the Kuzari, had a significant impact on Jewish thought and literature.
Another historical figure bearing the name Paytan was Rabbi Isaac Paytan (c. 1330-1390), a prominent Hebrew poet and liturgist from Catalonia, Spain. He composed numerous religious poems and hymns that were widely incorporated into Jewish liturgy.
In the 16th century, Rabbi Shlomo Paytan (c. 1510-1585) was a respected Torah scholar and kabbalist from Salonika, Greece. He authored several works on Jewish mysticism and contributed to the dissemination of Kabbalistic teachings.
During the 17th century, Rabbi Yom Tov Lipmann Paytan (c. 1640-1705) was a renowned Talmudic scholar and rabbi from Poland. He served as the chief rabbi of Krakow and wrote influential works on Jewish law and ethics.
In more recent times, Paytan Toker (1904-1983) was a prominent Turkish musician and composer known for his contributions to the genre of Turkish classical music. He composed numerous works and helped preserve and promote the rich musical traditions of Turkey.
While the name Paytan has its roots in the Hebrew language and Jewish culture, it has also gained recognition and usage in other communities and regions over time, reflecting the diverse and interconnected nature of human societies.
People
Paytan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Paytan 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
Paytan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Paytan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 174 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Paytan 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 1,969,853 US residents.
Is Paytan a common name?
We classify Paytan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 177 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Paytan most popular?
The single biggest year for Paytan was 2009, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Paytan is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Paytan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 205 people with the name Paytan, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,817 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 Paytan 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 Paytan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Paytan leans strongly female. 181 people counted with this name were female (85.0%), compared with 32 male bearers (15.0%). 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 Paytan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Paytan is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.3%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Paytan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Paytan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.0% (160 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 Paytan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Paytan a female name?
Yes, 96.0% of people registered as Paytan 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 Paytan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Paytan 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 Paytan 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 Paytan?
Want to know how many Americans are named Paytan? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.