Villa
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "town" or "small village".
Name Census estimates that about 106 living Americans carry the first name Villa. It is a predominantly female name (96.4% of registrations). The average person named Villa today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Villa births was 1915 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Villa. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Villa is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Villas were born before 1957.
People living today
106
~ 1 in 3,233,531 Americans
Peak year
1915
31 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1919 SSA rank
#4,139
Tracked since 1885
Census
Villa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 444 people with the first name Villa, which placed it at #22,416 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
#22,416
National first-name rank
People counted
444
444 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
35.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Villa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Villa is White at 35.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (25.2%) and Hispanic (18.5%). 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 Villa 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 Villa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White35.8% · 159
- Asian and Pacific Islander25.2% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino18.5% · 82
- Black or African American17.3% · 77
- Two or more races2.0% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Villa
Villa leans heavily female at 96.4% of total registrations, but 27 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Villa as a male name
- Ranked #4,139 in 1919
- 6 male births in 1919
- Peak: 1914 (7 births)
Villa as a female name
- Ranked #6,780 in 1967
- 6 female births in 1967
- Peak: 1915 (24 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Villa leans strongly female. 370 people counted with this name were female (82.8%), compared with 77 male bearers (17.2%).
Popularity
Villa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Villa from the 1880s through to the 1960s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 158 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Villa 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 Villa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Villas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Villa
Villa is a given name of Spanish origin, derived from the Latin word "villa," which means a country estate or a farm. The name Villa likely emerged during the Roman Empire, when large rural properties were known as villas.
In ancient Roman times, the word "villa" was used to refer to luxurious country houses and estates owned by wealthy individuals. These villas were often located in the countryside and served as retreats from the hustle and bustle of city life. The name Villa may have been given to individuals who were born or resided on such properties.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Villa can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Pliny the Elder, who lived from 23-79 AD. In his work "Naturalis Historia," Pliny mentions a Roman citizen named Villa who was known for his expertise in agriculture and viticulture.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, the name Villa continued to be used across various regions of Spain and other parts of the Iberian Peninsula. One notable historical figure with this name was Villa Vidor, a 13th-century Spanish nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the Reconquista, the campaign to reclaim territories from the Moors.
In the 16th century, a Spanish explorer and conquistador named Francisco Villa was part of the expedition led by Hernán Cortés that resulted in the conquest of the Aztec Empire. Villa played a crucial role in several battles against the Aztecs and later governed territories in present-day Mexico.
Another famous bearer of the name Villa was Pancho Villa, a Mexican revolutionary leader whose full name was José Doroteo Arango Arámbula. Born in 1878, Pancho Villa was a prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution and is remembered for his military campaigns and his efforts to bring about social and economic reforms in Mexico.
During the 20th century, the name Villa gained prominence in the world of sports. One of the most celebrated athletes with this name was David Villa, a Spanish professional soccer player born in 1981. Villa is considered one of the greatest strikers in the history of Spanish football and was a key player for the Spanish national team, helping them win the 2008 European Championship and the 2010 World Cup.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the given name Villa. While the name has its roots in ancient Roman times, it has endured and been carried on by individuals from various walks of life, spanning different eras and regions.
People
Villa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Villa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Villa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Villa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 106 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Villa 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 3,233,531 US residents.
Is Villa a common name?
We classify Villa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 749 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Villa most popular?
The single biggest year for Villa was 1915, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Villa is about 79 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Villa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 444 people with the name Villa, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,416 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 Villa 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 Villa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Villa leans strongly female. 370 people counted with this name were female (82.8%), compared with 77 male bearers (17.2%). 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 Villa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Villa is White at 35.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (25.2%) and Hispanic (18.5%). 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 Villa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Villa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.8% (159 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 Villa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Villa a female name?
Yes, 96.4% of people registered as Villa 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 Villa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Villa 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 Villa 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 share the name Villa?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.