Yesenia
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is salvation".
Name Census estimates that about 38,141 living Americans carry the first name Yesenia. It is a predominantly female name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Yesenia today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yesenia births was 1987 (2,044 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yesenia. 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 Yesenia with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Yesenia is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 314 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1990s, recent registration numbers for Yesenia have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
38K
~ 1 in 8,987 Americans
Peak year
1987
2,044 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2004 SSA rank
#1,572
Tracked since 1966
Census
Yesenia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 49,769 people with the first name Yesenia, which placed it at #904 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
#904
National first-name rank
People counted
50K
49,769 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
16.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yesenia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yesenia is Hispanic at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Yesenia 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 Yesenia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.8% · 48,662
- White1.4% · 692
- Black or African American0.4% · 217
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 72
- Two or more races0.1% · 44
Gender
Gender distribution for Yesenia
Out of the 39,673 babies given the name Yesenia since 1880, 99.2% 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.
Yesenia as a male name
- Ranked #11,314 in 2004
- 6 male births in 2004
- Peak: 1987 (41 births)
Yesenia as a female name
- Ranked #1,572 in 2024
- 135 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1987 (2,003 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yesenia appears almost entirely female. Of the 49,764 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Yesenia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yesenia from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 15,295 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
Yesenia 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 Yesenia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yesenias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Yesenia, while Kentucky, District of Columbia, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 989 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yesenia
Yesenia is a feminine given name of Spanish origin, derived from the Biblical name Jesenia. The name Jesenia is believed to be a variant spelling of the Hebrew name Yeshua, which means "God is salvation" or "Yahweh saves." The name Yesenia gained popularity in Spanish-speaking countries, particularly in Latin America.
The first recorded use of the name Yesenia can be traced back to the late 19th century, although it remained relatively uncommon until the mid-20th century. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Yesenia Quintana, a Cuban poet and journalist who lived from 1892 to 1965.
In the early 20th century, Yesenia Mendoza (1904-1982) was a Mexican actress and singer who performed in various films and stage productions during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She was known for her work in the film "Canaima" (1945) and is considered one of the pioneers of Mexican cinema.
Another notable figure with the name Yesenia is Yesenia Gomez (born 1967), a Mexican businesswoman and entrepreneur. She co-founded the successful cosmetics company Yesenia Gomez Cosmetics and has been recognized for her contributions to the beauty industry in Mexico.
In the literary world, Yesenia Montilla (1945-2005) was a Venezuelan poet and writer. Her works explored themes of love, identity, and cultural heritage. She published several poetry collections, including "Tierra de Nadie" (1978) and "Territorio de humo" (1991).
More recently, Yesenia Ferrera (born 1990) is a Dominican-American singer and songwriter. She is known for her participation in the reality competition show "La Banda" and has released several successful singles, including "Amor Verdadero" and "Te Amo Más."
While the name Yesenia is primarily used in Spanish-speaking countries, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world due to cultural influences and migration. The name continues to be a popular choice for parents seeking a name with Biblical roots and a unique, melodic sound.
People
Yesenia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yesenia 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
Yesenia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yesenia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 38,141 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yesenia 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 8,987 US residents.
Is Yesenia a common name?
We classify Yesenia as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 39,673 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yesenia most popular?
The single biggest year for Yesenia was 1987, when 2,044 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yesenia is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yesenia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 49,769 people with the name Yesenia, or 16.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #904 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 Yesenia 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 Yesenia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yesenia appears almost entirely female. Of the 49,764 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Yesenia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yesenia is Hispanic at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Yesenia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Yesenia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.8% (48,662 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 Yesenia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yesenia a female name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Yesenia 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 Yesenia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yesenia 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 Yesenia 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 called Yesenia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.