Yanil
Masculine name of Turkish origin meaning "the companion" or "the friend".
Name Census estimates that about 64 living Americans carry the first name Yanil. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yanil today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yanil births was 1991 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yanil. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Yanil. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
64
~ 1 in 5,355,537 Americans
Peak year
1991
10 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2002 SSA rank
#11,083
Tracked since 1987
Census
Yanil in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 217 people with the first name Yanil, which placed it at #36,520 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
#36,520
National first-name rank
People counted
217
217 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
98.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yanil
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yanil is Hispanic at 98.2%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Black (0.5%). 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 Yanil 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 Yanil at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino98.2% · 213
- White1.4% · 3
- Black or African American0.5% · 1
Popularity
Yanil: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yanil from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 46 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yanil 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 Yanil during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yanils live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yanil
The name Yanil is believed to have its origins in the Mayan culture of ancient Mesoamerica, specifically in the region now known as the Yucatán Peninsula in modern-day Mexico. It likely derived from the Mayan word "yanil," which translates to "green" or "verdant," reflecting the lush vegetation and natural beauty of the region.
While the precise origins of the name are somewhat obscure, it is thought to have been in use among the Maya people as early as the Classic period, which spanned from around 250 AD to 900 AD. During this time, the Maya civilization reached its cultural and architectural peak, with impressive cities such as Chichen Itza and Tulum being constructed.
Unfortunately, there are no known historical records or ancient texts that explicitly mention the name Yanil or its use among the Maya people. However, its linguistic roots and connection to the Mayan language suggest a deep-rooted history within the region's indigenous cultures.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Yanil is a Maya woman who lived in the late 16th century, during the early years of Spanish colonization in the Yucatán Peninsula. While her full story remains largely unknown, her existence serves as an indication of the name's continued use among the Maya people despite the upheaval and cultural changes brought about by European conquest.
In more recent times, several notable individuals have borne the name Yanil, though their backgrounds and achievements vary widely. One such person is Yanil Tun Muñoz (born 1985), a Mexican artist and activist known for her work promoting indigenous rights and environmental conservation in the Yucatán region.
Another prominent bearer of the name is Yanil Oziel Rendón Manjarrez (born 1995), a Mexican professional soccer player who has represented his country at the youth level and currently plays for Club Atlético de San Luis in the Liga MX.
In the realm of literature, Yanil Ozuna (born 1976) is a Puerto Rican poet and writer whose work often explores themes of identity, displacement, and the experiences of the Puerto Rican diaspora.
Additionally, Yanil Camara Mendez (born 1988) is a Colombian actress and model who has appeared in various telenovelas and television shows throughout Latin America.
Finally, Yanil Ozuna Velazquez (1965-2021) was a Mexican-American activist and community leader who dedicated her life to advocating for immigrant rights and social justice causes in the United States.
These individuals, spanning different fields and backgrounds, serve as a testament to the enduring legacy and diversity of the name Yanil, which has its roots in the rich cultural heritage of the ancient Maya civilization.
People
Yanil + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yanil 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
Yanil: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yanil?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 64 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yanil 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 5,355,537 US residents.
Is Yanil a common name?
We classify Yanil as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 66 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yanil most popular?
The single biggest year for Yanil was 1991, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yanil is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yanil in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 217 people with the name Yanil, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,520 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 Yanil 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 Yanil?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yanil leans strongly female. 196 people counted with this name were female (90.3%), compared with 21 male bearers (9.7%). 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 Yanil?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yanil is Hispanic at 98.2%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Black (0.5%). 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 Yanil most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Yanil in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (213 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 Yanil in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yanil a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yanil 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 Yanil still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yanil 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 Yanil 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 named Yanil?
Find out how many people have the name Yanil on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.