Yanky
A diminutive form of the Hebrew name Jacob, meaning "holder of the heel" or "supplanter."
Name Census estimates that about 224 living Americans carry the first name Yanky. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yanky today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yanky births was 2022 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yanky. 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
224
~ 1 in 1,530,153 Americans
Peak year
2022
32 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,773
Tracked since 2005
Popularity
Yanky: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yanky from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 127 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
Yanky 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 Yanky during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yankys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yanky
The name Yanky is a diminutive form of the Hebrew name Yonatan, which is derived from the root word "natan" meaning "to give." It is also a variant spelling of the English name Yankee, which originated as a Dutch nickname for English colonists in America. The name Yanky likely emerged as a combination of these two linguistic influences.
In Hebrew tradition, the name Yonatan is associated with the biblical figure Jonathan, the son of King Saul and a close friend of David. Jonathan is portrayed as a brave warrior and a loyal companion to David. The name Yonatan has been used by Jewish communities for centuries, with variations like Yanky becoming popular in certain regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yanky can be found in the writings of the 16th-century Italian Jewish scholar, Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno. He mentioned a person named Yanky in his commentary on the Book of Samuel.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Yanky. One of the most famous was Yanky Davidov (1926-2011), a Russian-born Israeli artist known for his vibrant and expressive paintings. Another was Yanky Ginzburg (1928-2017), a Polish-born Israeli author and journalist who wrote extensively about the Holocaust and Jewish culture.
In the 18th century, there was Yanky Levi (1740-1815), a French-Jewish scholar and kabbalist who authored several works on Jewish mysticism. In the 19th century, Yanky Hirsch (1820-1892) was a German-born American rabbi and educator who helped establish several important Jewish institutions in the United States.
Another notable figure was Yanky Tartakower (1887-1956), a Polish-born chess grandmaster and author who made significant contributions to the theory and practice of the game.
While the name Yanky has its roots in Hebrew and Jewish culture, it has also been adopted by various communities around the world, with variations in spelling and pronunciation. However, its core meaning remains tied to the concepts of giving and gifting, as well as the biblical figure of Jonathan.
People
Yanky + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yanky 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
Yanky: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yanky?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 224 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yanky 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 1,530,153 US residents.
Is Yanky a common name?
We classify Yanky as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 226 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yanky most popular?
The single biggest year for Yanky was 2022, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yanky is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yanky a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yanky in the SSA data are male. 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.