Yaffa
A feminine Hebrew name meaning "beautiful" or "pretty".
Name Census estimates that about 426 living Americans carry the first name Yaffa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yaffa today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yaffa births was 2019 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yaffa. 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
426
~ 1 in 804,588 Americans
Peak year
2019
19 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,202
Tracked since 1959
Popularity
Yaffa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yaffa from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 108 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Yaffa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yaffa 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 Yaffa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yaffas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yaffa
The name Yaffa is of Hebrew origin and has its roots in the ancient Semitic languages. It is derived from the Hebrew word "yafeh," which means "beautiful" or "handsome." This name has been in use for centuries and has a rich cultural and historical significance.
In the Hebrew Bible, the name Yaffa is mentioned in the Book of Genesis as the name of one of the sons of Japheth, son of Noah. This biblical reference suggests that the name has been around since ancient times and was likely used by the Israelites and other Semitic peoples of the region.
The name Yaffa has also been associated with the city of Jaffa, which is now a part of Tel Aviv, Israel. Jaffa is an ancient port city that dates back to the Bronze Age and has been a center of trade and cultural exchange for thousands of years. It is possible that the name Yaffa was used to describe the beauty and charm of this historic city.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Yaffa. One of the earliest recorded examples is Yaffa ibn Nasr al-Saqati, a 9th-century Arabic poet and scholar from Baghdad. Another notable figure is Yaffa Eliach, a Holocaust survivor and scholar who was born in 1935 and dedicated her life to preserving the memory of the Jewish community in Lithuania.
In the realm of entertainment, Yaffa Yahav was an Israeli singer and actress who gained popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. She was born in 1945 and is known for her contributions to Israeli music and culture.
Another prominent figure with the name Yaffa is Yaffa Gur, an Israeli actress and writer who was born in 1936. She has appeared in numerous films and television shows and has also written several books.
Yaffa Lande, a British-Israeli artist and sculptor, was born in 1944 and is known for her innovative use of materials and her exploration of themes related to identity and memory.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Yaffa throughout history. The name continues to be used in various cultures and regions, reflecting its enduring beauty and significance.
People
Yaffa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yaffa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yaffa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yaffa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 426 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yaffa 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 804,588 US residents.
Is Yaffa a common name?
We classify Yaffa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 440 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yaffa most popular?
The single biggest year for Yaffa was 2019, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yaffa is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yaffa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yaffa 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.
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.