Yianna
A feminine Greek name meaning "God's gracious gift."
Name Census estimates that about 101 living Americans carry the first name Yianna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yianna today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yianna births was 2009 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yianna. 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 Yianna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
101
~ 1 in 3,393,607 Americans
Peak year
2009
12 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,525
Tracked since 1996
Census
Yianna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 165 people with the first name Yianna, which placed it at #43,061 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
#43,061
National first-name rank
People counted
165
165 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yianna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yianna is White at 66.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.2%) and Black (9.1%). 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 Yianna 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 Yianna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.1% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino21.2% · 35
- Black or African American9.1% · 15
- Two or more races2.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 2
Popularity
Yianna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yianna from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 39 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Yianna remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yianna 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 Yianna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yiannas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yianna
The name Yianna originated from the Greek language and culture, with its roots dating back to ancient times. It is a feminine form of the name Ioannis, which is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious" or "God is merciful."
In the Byzantine era, the name Yianna gained popularity among Greek Christians, as it was associated with St. John the Baptist, one of the most revered figures in the New Testament. The name is mentioned in various religious texts and historical accounts from this period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yianna can be found in a 9th-century manuscript from the Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, Egypt. This document contains a list of names, including Yianna, which was likely used by one of the nuns residing there.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Yianna. One of the most famous was Yianna of Ravenna, a Byzantine princess who lived in the 11th century. She was known for her beauty, intelligence, and diplomatic skills, serving as an influential advisor to her husband, the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.
Another notable Yianna was Yianna Tsatsos (1888-1944), a Greek poet and writer who played a significant role in the literary circles of her time. Her works often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
In the 20th century, Yianna Athanassiou (1929-1996) was a renowned Greek actress who graced both the stage and the silver screen. She is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern Greek theater and cinema.
Yianna Alexiou (born 1967) is a contemporary Greek singer and songwriter who has achieved international success. Known for her powerful vocals and diverse musical style, she has received numerous awards and accolades throughout her career.
Another notable figure is Yianna Aggelou (born 1986), a Greek athlete who competed in the high jump event at the Olympic Games in Beijing and London. She holds several national records and has been a key member of the Greek national team.
People
Yianna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yianna 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
Yianna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yianna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 101 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yianna 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 3,393,607 US residents.
Is Yianna a common name?
We classify Yianna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 102 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yianna most popular?
The single biggest year for Yianna was 2009, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yianna is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yianna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 165 people with the name Yianna, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,061 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 Yianna 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 Yianna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yianna leans strongly female. 160 people counted with this name were female (97.6%), compared with 4 male bearers (2.4%). 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 Yianna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yianna is White at 66.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.2%) and Black (9.1%). 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 Yianna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Yianna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.1% (109 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 Yianna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yianna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yianna 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 Yianna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yianna 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 Yianna 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 Yianna?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.