Yocasta
Feminine name of Greek origin representing the tragic Theban queen in mythology.
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Yocasta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yocasta today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yocasta births was 1970 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yocasta. 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 Yocasta. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1970
6 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
1989 SSA rank
#14,530
Tracked since 1970
Census
Yocasta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 519 people with the first name Yocasta, which placed it at #20,044 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
#20,044
National first-name rank
People counted
519
519 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
99.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yocasta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yocasta is Hispanic at 99.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.2%). 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 Yocasta 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 Yocasta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino99.8% · 518
- Two or more races0.2% · 1
Popularity
Yocasta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yocasta from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 6 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
Yocasta 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 Yocasta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yocastas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yocasta
Yocasta is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the ancient Greek name Iokaste. It is believed to have originated from the word "iokas," meaning "violet flower." The name gained historical significance through its association with the tragic figure of Jocasta in Greek mythology.
In Greek mythology, Jocasta was the wife of King Laius of Thebes and the mother of Oedipus. The story of Oedipus and Jocasta is a central theme in Sophocles' tragic play "Oedipus Rex," which was likely written around 429 BCE. The play depicts the incestuous relationship between Oedipus and his mother, Jocasta, as a result of a prophecy and a series of unfortunate events.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yocasta can be found in the works of ancient Greek authors, such as Sophocles and Euripides, who wrote their plays in the 5th century BCE. The name has been carried through various literary works, including translations and adaptations of the Oedipus myth throughout the centuries.
During the Renaissance period, the name Yocasta appeared in literary works by prominent writers. For example, Giovanni Boccaccio's "De Mulieribus Claris" (On Famous Women), written in the 14th century, featured Jocasta as one of the notable women from antiquity.
In the 16th century, the Italian playwright Lodovico Dolce wrote a tragedy titled "Giocasta," which retold the story of Jocasta and Oedipus. The play was later translated into English by William Warner in 1590.
One of the most notable historical figures named Yocasta was Yocasta de Loyola (1490-1554), the sister of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order. She played a significant role in supporting her brother's religious endeavors and the establishment of the Society of Jesus.
Another prominent figure with the name Yocasta was Yocasta Inés del Portillo y Vida (1692-1765), a Spanish writer and poet who was part of the literary circle in Madrid during the 18th century.
In the world of literature, Yocasta Bravo (1922-2001) was a Mexican poet and essayist known for her works exploring themes of love, feminism, and social justice.
Yocasta Rekas (1938-2021) was a Greek-American architect and urban designer who made significant contributions to the field of urban planning and sustainable development.
Yocasta Marta Hernández (born 1959) is a Cuban writer and journalist known for her novels and short stories that explore the complexities of contemporary Cuban society.
People
Yocasta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yocasta 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
Yocasta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yocasta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yocasta 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Yocasta a common name?
We classify Yocasta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yocasta most popular?
The single biggest year for Yocasta was 1970, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yocasta is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yocasta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 519 people with the name Yocasta, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,044 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 Yocasta 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 Yocasta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yocasta appears almost entirely female. Of the 516 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Yocasta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yocasta is Hispanic at 99.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.2%). 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 Yocasta most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Yocasta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.8% (518 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 Yocasta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yocasta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yocasta 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 Yocasta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yocasta 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 Yocasta 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 Yocasta?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.