Fun Facts About the Name Yaw
- 404 babies named Yaw: U.S. records list 404 babies given the name Yaw from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Yaw Mean?
Yaw is a male day name among the Akan people of Ghana, meaning "born on Thursday." It belongs to the set of Akan day names, often called kradin, given according to the day of the week on which a child is born. Yaw is the male name for Thursday; the female counterpart is Yaa. In the Twi language, Thursday is Yawoada, and the name derives from this word for the day. The meaning is literal: the name records the day of birth rather than describing a quality. Akan tradition also associates day names with character and temperament, but that is a customary interpretation rather than part of the name's etymology.
Yaw Name History & Origins
Day names have long been part of Akan naming practice in the region of present-day Ghana, where a person's names commonly include one for the day of the week they were born. The custom is tied to the Akan calendar and to the belief that the day of birth shapes a person's kra, or soul. Through the transatlantic slave trade, Akan-speaking people and their descendants carried the practice to the Caribbean, and day names such as Yaw are recorded among Maroon communities in Jamaica and Suriname, where Akan-derived naming persisted. In English-speaking settings the name is usually written as it is in Akan, though English speakers often pronounce it like the word "yaw."
How Popular is the Name Yaw?
Yaw has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1997. Its best rank was #3,848 in 1978.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #11,941 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2024 | #7,700 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #12,181 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #8,945 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2021 | #9,665 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #8,033 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2019 | #8,855 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #9,635 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2017 | #9,651 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2016 | #8,778 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2015 | #7,050 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2014 | #13,994 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #10,688 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2012 | #6,612 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2011 | #7,484 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2010 | #8,117 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2009 | #8,960 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2008 | #6,747 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #10,882 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 2006 | #6,895 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #9,083 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2004 | #6,126 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2003 | #6,242 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2002 | #4,903 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2001 | #5,382 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2000 | #6,823 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1999 | #5,647 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1998 | #7,535 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1997 | #3,873 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1996 | #7,122 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1995 | #7,778 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1993 | #6,213 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1992 | #6,119 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1991 | #5,092 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #6,397 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1988 | #6,412 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1986 | #4,450 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1985 | #7,563 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #7,322 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #7,266 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #7,279 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #7,058 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #3,848 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1973 | #5,094 | 6 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Yaw Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual. You hate bondage in any form. You have love of beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You are willing to take spiritual matters on faith instead of subjecting them to mental analysis. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Yaw's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yaw's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.