Ymelda
A feminine name derived from the German components "heim" and "hild", suggesting protection and battle.
Name Census estimates that about 18 living Americans carry the first name Ymelda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ymelda today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ymelda births was 1953 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ymelda. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ymelda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
18
~ 1 in 19,041,908 Americans
Peak year
1953
6 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1985 SSA rank
#12,483
Tracked since 1953
Census
Ymelda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 247 people with the first name Ymelda, which placed it at #33,475 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
#33,475
National first-name rank
People counted
247
247 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
91.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ymelda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ymelda is Hispanic at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Black (2.8%) and White (2.4%). 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 Ymelda 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 Ymelda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.9% · 227
- Black or African American2.8% · 7
- White2.4% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Ymelda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ymelda from the 1950s through to the 1980s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 11 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Ymelda remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ymelda 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 Ymelda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ymelda
The name Ymelda originates from the ancient Germanic language, tracing its roots back to the 5th century AD. It is a combination of the Germanic words "ym" meaning "eternal" and "hild" meaning "battle" or "war." The name essentially translates to "eternal battle" or "everlasting fight."
During the Middle Ages, the name Ymelda gained popularity among the Germanic tribes inhabiting the regions of modern-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It was often associated with warriors and fighters, reflecting the warlike nature of these tribes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ymelda can be found in the Nibelungenlied, an epic German poem dating back to around 1200 AD. In this work, Ymelda is mentioned as the name of a valiant shieldmaiden who fought alongside the legendary hero Siegfried.
Throughout history, several notable individuals bore the name Ymelda. One such figure was Ymelda von Rothenburg (1220-1284), a German noblewoman renowned for her bravery and military prowess during the Crusades. She famously led a contingent of knights into battle against the Saracens, earning her the moniker "The Iron Maiden."
Another prominent Ymelda was Ymelda von Habsburg (1431-1496), a member of the illustrious House of Habsburg. She was known for her unwavering spirit and her role in negotiating peace treaties between warring factions in the Holy Roman Empire.
In the 16th century, Ymelda Schwarzenberg (1542-1605) was a celebrated German artist and engraver. Her intricate woodcuts and engravings depicting battle scenes and warriors were highly sought after by nobility throughout Europe.
Moving forward in time, Ymelda Grimmelshausen (1670-1732) was a German military strategist and tactician. She played a crucial role in the War of the Spanish Succession, and her innovative tactics were studied and implemented by armies across the continent.
Lastly, Ymelda von Bismarck (1815-1873) was the wife of the famous German statesman Otto von Bismarck. She was a strong-willed and influential figure, known for her support of her husband's policies and her dedication to the unification of Germany.
While the name Ymelda may have faded in popularity over the centuries, its rich historical significance and association with strength, resilience, and perseverance remain a testament to the enduring legacy of this ancient Germanic name.
People
Ymelda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ymelda 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
Ymelda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ymelda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ymelda 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 19,041,908 US residents.
Is Ymelda a common name?
We classify Ymelda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 38.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ymelda most popular?
The single biggest year for Ymelda was 1953, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ymelda is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ymelda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 247 people with the name Ymelda, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,475 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 Ymelda 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 Ymelda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ymelda leans strongly female. 247 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.2%). 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 Ymelda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ymelda is Hispanic at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Black (2.8%) and White (2.4%). 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 Ymelda most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Ymelda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (227 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 Ymelda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ymelda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ymelda 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 Ymelda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ymelda 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 Ymelda 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 Ymelda?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.