Twila
A feminine name of American origin referring to twilight or evening.
Name Census estimates that about 6,010 living Americans carry the first name Twila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Twila today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Twila births was 1960 (304 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Twila. 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
6.0K
~ 1 in 57,031 Americans
Peak year
1960
304 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,942
Tracked since 1890
Census
Twila in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,892 people with the first name Twila, which placed it at #3,160 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
#3,160
National first-name rank
People counted
6.9K
6,892 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Twila
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Twila is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Twila 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 Twila at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.4% · 5,678
- Black or African American9.8% · 677
- Two or more races3.2% · 221
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 181
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 109
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 26
Popularity
Twila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Twila from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 2,026 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Twila 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 Twila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Twilas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kansas recorded the most babies named Twila, while North Carolina, Wyoming, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 196 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Twila
The name Twila originates from the Old English language, stemming from the word "twilight," which refers to the soft, diffused light that occurs in the morning before sunrise or in the evening after sunset. This name finds its roots in the early medieval period, particularly in regions where Old English was spoken, such as parts of modern-day England and Scotland.
The name Twila is believed to be a variation or diminutive form of the Old English name "Twila," which was derived from the words "twi" (two) and "leoht" (light), referring to the two periods of twilight – dawn and dusk. This name may have been initially given to children born during these transitional times of the day, symbolizing the beauty and serenity of the twilight hours.
While there are no known historical references to the name Twila in ancient texts or religious scriptures, records indicate that it was used as a given name for females during the Middle Ages in England. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Twila dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire, England, in 1275.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Twila. One of the earliest recorded was Twila of Mercia (c. 670 – c. 700), a Mercian princess and abbess of the Monastery of Repton in present-day Derbyshire, England. Another early figure was Twila the Blessed (c. 1150 – c. 1220), a renowned mystic and nun from Flanders, who was revered for her piety and spiritual writings.
In more recent times, the name Twila has been associated with several notable figures, such as Twila Paris (1958 – present), an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter, and Twila Tanner Brase (1942 – present), an American author and journalist known for her children's books and contributions to various magazines.
Other individuals who have carried the name Twila include Twila Grissom (1927 – 2006), an American artist and painter known for her abstract expressionist works, and Twila Dahlgren (1944 – present), a former professional baseball player who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the 1960s.
People
Twila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Twila as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Twila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Twila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,010 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Twila 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 57,031 US residents.
Is Twila a common name?
We classify Twila as "Rare". It ranks above 96.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,877 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Twila most popular?
The single biggest year for Twila was 1960, when 304 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Twila is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Twila in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,892 people with the name Twila, or 2.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,160 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 Twila 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 Twila?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Twila appears almost entirely female. Of the 6,890 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Twila?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Twila is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Twila most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Twila in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (5,678 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 Twila in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Twila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Twila 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 Twila still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Twila 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 Twila 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 Americans are named Twila?
See how many Americans are named Twila on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.