Pia
A feminine given name of Latin origin meaning "dutiful" or "pious".
Name Census estimates that about 3,483 living Americans carry the first name Pia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pia today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pia births was 2024 (158 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pia. 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 Pia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.5K
~ 1 in 98,408 Americans
Peak year
2024
158 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,411
Tracked since 1908
Census
Pia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,613 people with the first name Pia, which placed it at #4,161 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
#4,161
National first-name rank
People counted
4.6K
4,613 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pia is White at 45.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.7%) and Hispanic (16.8%). 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 Pia 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 Pia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.3% · 2,091
- Asian and Pacific Islander20.7% · 956
- Hispanic or Latino16.8% · 773
- Black or African American12.3% · 566
- Two or more races4.7% · 215
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 12
Popularity
Pia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pia from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 844 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
Pia 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 Pia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Pia, while Washington, Virginia, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 93 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pia
The name Pia is a feminine given name with origins in several languages and cultures. It is derived from the Latin word "pius," meaning pious, devout, or dutiful.
In Italian, Pia has been a popular name for centuries, and it is also found in other Romance languages like Spanish and French. It is believed to have been introduced to Italy during the Roman era, as the Latin word "pius" was a common term used to describe virtuous individuals.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Pia is found in the medieval Italian literary work "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri, where a character named Pia de' Tolomei is mentioned. Pia de' Tolomei was a real-life noblewoman who lived in the 13th century and was allegedly murdered by her husband.
Another notable historical figure named Pia was Pia de' Tolomei (1272-1336), an Italian nun and mystic who was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. She is known for her visions and spiritual writings, and her feast day is celebrated on May 29th.
In the 16th century, Pia Guidi (1542-1611) was an Italian painter and poet active in Florence during the Renaissance period. She is known for her religious paintings and portraits, and her work is displayed in various museums and galleries in Italy.
Moving to more recent times, Pia Zadora (born 1954) is an American actress and singer who rose to fame in the 1980s. She won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the film "Butterfly" and has appeared in several other movies and television shows.
Pia Toscano (born 1988) is an American singer and songwriter who gained recognition as a contestant on the tenth season of the reality show "American Idol." Although she did not win the competition, she has since released several successful singles and albums.
These are just a few examples of historical and notable figures who have borne the name Pia. The name has endured throughout the centuries, and its meaning of piety and devotion has likely contributed to its popularity across various cultures and religions.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Pia
People
Pia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pia 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
Pia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,483 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pia 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 98,408 US residents.
Is Pia a common name?
We classify Pia 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, 3,835 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pia most popular?
The single biggest year for Pia was 2024, when 158 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pia is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,613 people with the name Pia, or 1.53 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,161 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 Pia 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 Pia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pia appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,608 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Pia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pia is White at 45.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.7%) and Hispanic (16.8%). 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 Pia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Pia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.3% (2,091 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 Pia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pia 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 Pia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pia 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 Pia 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 Pia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.