Sola
Of Yoruba origin, meaning "the richest one" or "wealth owner".
Name Census estimates that about 247 living Americans carry the first name Sola. It is a predominantly female name (98.0% of registrations). The average person named Sola today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sola births was 2022 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sola. 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 Sola with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
247
~ 1 in 1,387,669 Americans
Peak year
2022
24 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2006 SSA rank
#5,917
Tracked since 1924
Census
Sola in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 510 people with the first name Sola, which placed it at #20,297 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
#20,297
National first-name rank
People counted
510
510 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
33.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sola
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sola is Black at 33.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (21.8%) and White (21.4%). 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 Sola 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 Sola at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American33.9% · 173
- Asian and Pacific Islander21.8% · 111
- White21.4% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino11.4% · 58
- Two or more races11.0% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Sola
Sola leans heavily female at 98.0% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Sola as a male name
- Ranked #13,733 in 2006
- 5 male births in 2006
- Peak: 2006 (5 births)
Sola as a female name
- Ranked #5,917 in 2024
- 21 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (24 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sola on both sides of the split. Of the 513 people counted with this name, 125 were male (24.4%) and 388 were female (75.6%).
Popularity
Sola: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sola from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 101 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
Sola 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 Sola during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Solas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sola
The name Sola has its origins in various cultures and languages, each with a unique meaning and historical significance.
Firstly, in Latin, the word "sola" means "alone" or "solitary." This usage can be traced back to ancient Roman times, where it was a common term. However, there is no evidence of it being used as a proper name during that era.
In Sanskrit, the word "sola" means "a kind of rice." It's possible that the name Sola was derived from this word, particularly in regions where rice cultivation was prevalent, such as parts of India and Southeast Asia.
In some Scandinavian languages, the name Sola is believed to have originated from the Old Norse word "sól," which means "sun." This connection to the celestial body implies a sense of warmth, radiance, and brightness associated with the name.
The earliest recorded use of Sola as a given name can be found in medieval Europe. One notable figure was Sola de Burgos, a Spanish noblewoman and patron of the arts, who lived in the 15th century (c. 1450-1520).
Another historical figure with the name Sola was Sola Nabarria, a Basque writer and poet from the 16th century (c. 1530-1597), known for her contributions to Basque literature.
In the 17th century, Sola Shitadeva (1623-1688) was a renowned Indian musician and composer from the Drupad tradition, recognized for his significant contributions to Hindustani classical music.
Moving to the 18th century, Sola Pinto (1720-1787) was a Portuguese philosopher and mathematician who made notable contributions to the field of calculus and differential equations.
In more recent times, Sola Schoenfeld (1888-1977) was a Polish-American actress and writer who achieved success on the stage and in films during the early 20th century.
While the name Sola is not as common as some other names, it has persisted across various cultures and time periods, carrying different meanings and associations depending on its linguistic origins and historical context.
People
Sola + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sola as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sola: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sola?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 247 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sola 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 1,387,669 US residents.
Is Sola a common name?
We classify Sola as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 255 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sola most popular?
The single biggest year for Sola was 2022, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sola is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sola in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 510 people with the name Sola, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,297 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 Sola 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 Sola?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sola on both sides of the split. Of the 513 people counted with this name, 125 were male (24.4%) and 388 were female (75.6%). 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 Sola?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sola is Black at 33.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (21.8%) and White (21.4%). 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 Sola most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sola in the 2020 Census, accounting for 33.9% (173 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 Sola in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sola a female name?
Yes, 98.0% of people registered as Sola 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 Sola still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sola 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 Sola 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 called Sola?
You can see how many Americans are named Sola on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.