Quetzally
A feminine name of Mesoamerican origin referring to the quetzal bird.
Name Census estimates that about 112 living Americans carry the first name Quetzally. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Quetzally today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Quetzally births was 2013 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Quetzally. 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
112
~ 1 in 3,060,307 Americans
Peak year
2013
13 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,871
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Quetzally: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Quetzally from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 65 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Quetzally remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Quetzally 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 Quetzally during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Quetzallys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Quetzally
The name Quetzally has its origins in the Nahuatl language, spoken by the Aztecs and various other indigenous groups in central Mexico. It derives from the Nahuatl word "quetzalli," which refers to the beautiful, iridescent feathers of the resplendent quetzal bird, revered as sacred by the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican civilizations.
In Aztec mythology, the quetzal feathers were associated with the god Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent deity who represented wind, air, and learning. The feathers were highly prized and reserved for the nobility and religious ceremonies. As such, the name Quetzally likely originated as a name for Aztec nobility or those associated with the priesthood or religious rituals involving the quetzal bird.
The earliest recorded use of the name Quetzally is difficult to pinpoint precisely, as written records from the Aztec period are scarce. However, it is believed to have been in use as a personal name among the Aztecs and neighboring cultures for centuries before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Quetzally was a Nahua noblewoman who lived in the early 16th century. She was the daughter of the ruler of Texcoco, a prominent city-state in the Aztec Empire. Her full name was Quetzally Tzihuacpol, and she played a pivotal role in the Spanish conquest of Mexico as an interpreter and advisor to Hernán Cortés.
Another notable historical figure named Quetzally was Quetzally Quintanilla, a Mexican artist, and activist who lived from 1889 to 1973. She was a prominent figure in the Mexican muralist movement and advocated for the rights of indigenous communities and the preservation of their cultural heritage.
In the 20th century, Quetzally Blanco was a Mexican politician and diplomat who served as the ambassador of Mexico to several countries, including the United States and Canada, between the 1960s and 1980s.
The name Quetzally has also been used by notable writers and artists, such as Quetzally Ramirez, a Guatemalan poet and author born in 1956, and Quetzally Alvarado, a Mexican painter and sculptor born in 1952.
While less common outside of Mexico and Central America, the name Quetzally has been adopted by some families of Mexican or indigenous descent in other parts of the Americas, reflecting the cultural and historical significance of the quetzal bird and the Aztec heritage.
People
Quetzally + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Quetzally as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Q
Other first names starting with Q with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Quetzally: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Quetzally?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 112 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Quetzally 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 3,060,307 US residents.
Is Quetzally a common name?
We classify Quetzally as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 113 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Quetzally most popular?
The single biggest year for Quetzally was 2013, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Quetzally is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Quetzally in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Quetzally a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Quetzally 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 Quetzally still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Quetzally 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 Quetzally 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Quetzally?
You can see how many people share the name Quetzally on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.