Yemaya
A feminine name of Yoruba origin referring to a female river deity.
Name Census estimates that about 457 living Americans carry the first name Yemaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yemaya today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yemaya births was 2023 (57 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yemaya. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Yemaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
457
~ 1 in 750,009 Americans
Peak year
2023
57 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,684
Tracked since 1991
Census
Yemaya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 213 people with the first name Yemaya, which placed it at #36,939 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
#36,939
National first-name rank
People counted
213
213 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
54.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yemaya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yemaya is Black at 54.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.8%) and White (9.4%). 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 Yemaya 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 Yemaya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American54.5% · 116
- Hispanic or Latino26.8% · 57
- White9.4% · 20
- Two or more races9.4% · 20
Popularity
Yemaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yemaya from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 235 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
Yemaya 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 Yemaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yemayas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Yemaya, while North Carolina, New York, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yemaya
Yemaya is a name of Yoruba origin, derived from the West African Yoruba language. It is believed to have emerged in the 14th to 16th centuries among the Yoruba people of modern-day Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The name is associated with the Yoruban deity Yemaya, the mother of all living things and the patron of the living ocean.
The name Yemaya is closely tied to the Yoruban religion and mythology. In the Yoruban pantheon, Yemaya is one of the most revered and celebrated deities, representing the nurturing and life-giving aspects of the ocean. She is often depicted as a mermaid-like figure, symbolizing the intertwined nature of the sea and motherhood.
Historically, the name Yemaya has been documented in various Yoruban religious texts and oral traditions. It has been referenced in the sacred Ifa literary corpus, which contains the teachings and divinations of the Yoruban religion. The name has also appeared in various praise poems and songs dedicated to the deity Yemaya.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yemaya dates back to the 16th century, when it was mentioned in the writings of Portuguese missionaries who encountered the Yoruban culture during their travels to West Africa. These accounts provided insights into the religious practices and deities revered by the Yoruba people, including Yemaya.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Yemaya, reflecting its cultural significance and enduring popularity. One such figure was Yemaya Kpengbenyo (c. 1700-1775), a renowned Yoruban priestess and community leader who played a crucial role in preserving and transmitting Yoruban spiritual traditions during the tumultuous period of the Atlantic slave trade.
Another notable bearer of the name was Yemaya Iyá Alákà (c. 1850-1920), a highly respected and influential Yoruban priestess who served as the spiritual leader of the Oyó community in modern-day Nigeria. Her teachings and spiritual guidance played a vital role in maintaining the continuity of Yoruban religious practices.
In the realm of literature, Yemaya Ayivi (1896-1987) was a prominent Beninese writer and cultural activist who dedicated her work to documenting and promoting the rich heritage of the Yoruban people. Her novels and essays explored themes of identity, spirituality, and cultural preservation, often drawing inspiration from the figure of Yemaya.
The name Yemaya has also transcended its Yoruban roots and found its way into other cultures and belief systems. In the Afro-Caribbean religious traditions of Santería and Candomblé, which have their roots in the Yoruban diaspora, Yemaya is revered as the mother of all living beings and the protector of the oceans.
Lastly, Yemaya Mabiala (1932-2010) was a prominent Congolese singer and cultural ambassador who gained international recognition for her contributions to promoting the music and traditions of Central Africa. Her stage name, Yemaya, paid homage to the Yoruban deity and symbolized her role as a cultural guardian and preserver.
People
Yemaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yemaya 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
Yemaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yemaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 457 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yemaya 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 750,009 US residents.
Is Yemaya a common name?
We classify Yemaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 461 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yemaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Yemaya was 2023, when 57 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yemaya is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yemaya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 213 people with the name Yemaya, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,939 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 Yemaya 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 Yemaya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yemaya appears almost entirely female. Of the 215 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 Yemaya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yemaya is Black at 54.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.8%) and White (9.4%). 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 Yemaya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Yemaya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.5% (116 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 Yemaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yemaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yemaya 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 Yemaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yemaya 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 Yemaya 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 have Yemaya as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.