Yunay
A feminine given name of Arapaho origin meaning "it is holy".
Name Census estimates that about 82 living Americans carry the first name Yunay. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yunay today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yunay births was 2023 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yunay. 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 Yunay with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Yunay. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
82
~ 1 in 4,179,931 Americans
Peak year
2023
25 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,421
Tracked since 2016
Popularity
Yunay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yunay from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 65 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
Yunay 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 Yunay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yunays live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yunay
The name Yunay has its origins in the Quechua language, spoken by the indigenous peoples of the Andes region in South America. It emerged during the pre-Columbian era, before the arrival of European colonizers in the Americas.
The word "Yunay" in Quechua is believed to have meant "beautiful" or "radiant." It was likely used as a descriptive term or epithet before becoming a personal name. The earliest recorded instances of Yunay as a given name date back to the 15th century, during the height of the Inca Empire.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Yunay was a high-ranking noble woman who lived in the late 15th century. She was a member of the Inca royal family and served as a priestess in the Sun Temple in Cuzco, the capital of the Inca Empire.
Another historical figure named Yunay was a Quechua warrior who fought against the Spanish conquistadors during the conquest of Peru in the 16th century. He is recorded in Spanish chronicles as leading a group of Inca resistance fighters in the mountainous region of Vilcabamba.
In the 17th century, a Quechua poet and playwright named Yunay Huaman is believed to have been active in the colonial city of Cuzco. Some of his works, which blended indigenous and Spanish literary traditions, are thought to have survived through oral tradition.
A lesser-known figure named Yunay Quispe is mentioned in colonial records from the 18th century as a weaver and textile artist in the Andes region. Her intricate tapestries and textiles were highly prized among the Spanish colonial elite.
In the 19th century, a Quechua leader and activist named Yunay Ccallo gained recognition for his efforts to preserve indigenous languages and cultural traditions in the face of increasing assimilation policies implemented by the Peruvian government.
While the name Yunay has its roots in the Quechua language, it has also been adopted and used by other cultures and communities in South America over the centuries, though its historical usage and significance remain closely tied to the Andes region and its indigenous peoples.
People
Yunay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yunay 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
Yunay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yunay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 82 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yunay 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 4,179,931 US residents.
Is Yunay a common name?
We classify Yunay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 83 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yunay most popular?
The single biggest year for Yunay was 2023, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yunay is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Yunay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yunay a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yunay in the SSA data are male. 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 Yunay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yunay 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 Yunay 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Yunay?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.