Yecenia
Of Portuguese origin meaning "grace of God".
Name Census estimates that about 1,177 living Americans carry the first name Yecenia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yecenia today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yecenia births was 1990 (77 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yecenia. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 291,210 Americans
Peak year
1990
77 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
1989 SSA rank
#9,204
Tracked since 1971
Census
Yecenia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,309 people with the first name Yecenia, which placed it at #10,261 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
#10,261
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,309 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yecenia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yecenia is Hispanic at 97.9%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Black (0.6%). 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 Yecenia 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 Yecenia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.9% · 1,281
- White0.9% · 12
- Black or African American0.6% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 6
- Two or more races0.2% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Yecenia
Out of the 1,235 babies given the name Yecenia since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Yecenia as a male name
- Ranked #9,204 in 1989
- 5 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1989 (5 births)
Yecenia as a female name
- Ranked #13,302 in 2011
- 8 female births in 2011
- Peak: 1990 (77 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yecenia appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,303 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Yecenia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yecenia from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 462 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
Yecenia 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 Yecenia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yecenias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Yecenia, while New Jersey, Washington, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 96 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yecenia
The given name Yecenia is believed to have originated from the Latin name Vincentia, which itself is derived from the masculine name Vincentius. The name Vincentius comes from the Latin word "vincere," meaning "to conquer" or "to overcome." This suggests that the name Yecenia may have been associated with strength, victory, or overcoming adversity in its earliest origins.
The name Yecenia is thought to have first emerged in Spain during the Middle Ages, likely as a variation of the more common Spanish name Vincencia. As Spain has a rich history of cultural influences from various civilizations, including Roman, Visigothic, and Moorish, it is possible that the name Yecenia was shaped by these diverse linguistic and cultural traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yecenia can be found in the 16th century, when a Spanish noblewoman named Yecenia de Córdoba was mentioned in historical records from the region of Andalusia. This suggests that the name had already gained some prominence among the Spanish aristocracy by that time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Yecenia. For example, Yecenia Ralston (1892-1973) was an American silent film actress and dancer who appeared in several popular movies during the 1920s. Another notable figure was Yecenia Vargas (1915-2012), a renowned Mexican painter and sculptor known for her vibrant and colorful works depicting scenes from Mexican culture and daily life.
In the literary world, Yecenia Hernández (1932-1998) was a celebrated Cuban poet and author whose works explored themes of identity, diaspora, and the complexities of human experience. Her poetry collection "Alma Viajera" (Traveling Soul) is considered a significant contribution to Latin American literature.
The name Yecenia has also been associated with individuals in the field of science and technology. Yecenia Martínez (born 1968) is a Mexican computer scientist and engineer who has made significant contributions to the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms.
Lastly, Yecenia Villalobos (1927-2015) was a pioneering Colombian politician and activist who fought for women's rights and social justice. She was one of the first women elected to the Colombian Congress and played a crucial role in advocating for gender equality and improving living conditions for marginalized communities.
While the name Yecenia may have its roots in ancient Latin origins, it has been carried through various cultures and time periods, adapting and evolving along the way. The individuals mentioned above represent just a few examples of how this name has left its mark on diverse fields throughout history.
People
Yecenia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yecenia 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
Yecenia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yecenia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,177 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yecenia 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 291,210 US residents.
Is Yecenia a common name?
We classify Yecenia as "Rare". It ranks above 91.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,235 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yecenia most popular?
The single biggest year for Yecenia was 1990, when 77 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yecenia is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yecenia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,309 people with the name Yecenia, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,261 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 Yecenia 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 Yecenia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yecenia appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,303 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Yecenia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yecenia is Hispanic at 97.9%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Black (0.6%). 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 Yecenia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Yecenia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.9% (1,281 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 Yecenia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yecenia a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Yecenia 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 Yecenia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yecenia 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 Yecenia 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 common is the name Yecenia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.