Here is a list of American names that start with Y. The page includes American names for boys and girls from different eras, as well as last names.
The list is divided into multiple sections. The first names in this randomizer come fromthe official site of the Social Security Administration of the United States. Modern names are those popular today, while traditional names were popular throughout the 1900s. Some names appear in both eras. The surnames in this list are the 10,000 most common family names in America in the U.S. Census.
All of the names also appear in my Random American Name Generator.
- Traditional Male American Names that Start with Y
- Modern Male American Names that Start with Y
- Traditional Female American Names that Start with Y
- Modern Female American Names that Start with Y
- American Last Names that Start with Y
- Why Are American Names Beginning with Y So Rare?
As the names come from official statistics, they represent several different ethnicities. I decided to keep the statistics as they are instead of filtering out names with different backgrounds. Because of this, some first and last name combinations may seem very unlikely.
Traditional American Boy Names from the 1900s – Letter Y
There were no common male Y names in the United States in the 1900s.
Common American Feminine Names That Start with Y
There are no popular male Y names in America today.
Old American Feminine Names That Start with Y
- Yesenia
- Yolanda
- Yvette
- Yvonne
Modern American Girl Names That Start with Y
There are no popular female Y names in America today.
American Family Names Starting with Y
- Yaeger
- Yager
- Yamada
- Yamamoto
- Yan
- Yancey
- Yancy
- Yanes
- Yanez
- Yang
- Yao
- Yap
- Yarborough
- Yarbrough
- Yarnell
- Yates
- Yazzie
- Ybarra
- Ye
- Yeager
- Yee
- Yeh
- Yen
- Yepez
- Yeung
- Yi
- Yim
- Yin
- Yingling
- Yip
- Yocum
- Yoder
- Yoo
- Yoon
- York
- Yoshida
- Yost
- You
- Youmans
- Young
- Youngblood
- Younger
- Youngs
- Yount
- Yousif
- Youssef
- Yowell
- Yu
- Yuan
- Yuen
- Yun
- Yung
- Yusuf
Why Are American Names Beginning with Y So Rare?
American first names beginning with Y are rare. English has very few traditional given names that start with that letter, with only a handful of exceptions like Yolanda or Yvonne, and these were never widely used. Names beginning with Y remain uncommon for both boys and girls.
Y-surnames, however, are more common because they reflect diverse immigration patterns. Many come from English (Young, York), German (Yoder), Spanish (Yáñez, Ybarra), and especially East Asian languages (Yang, Yamada, Yoon, Yu).
About This List
I have made similar lists of American names for all the letters of the alphabet from A to Z:
- Names that Start with A
- Names that Start with B
- Names that Start with C
- Names that Start with D
- Names that Start with E
- Names that Start with F
- Names that Start with G
- Names that Start with H
- Names that Start with I
- Names that Start with J
- Names that Start with K
- Names that Start with L
- Names that Start with M
- Names that Start with N
- Names that Start with O
- Names that Start with P
- Names that Start with Q
- Names that Start with R
- Names that Start with S
- Names that Start with T
- Names that Start with U
- Names that Start with V
- Names that Start with W
- Names that Start with X
- Names that Start with Y
- Names that Start with Z
About Arimo Travels
My website, Arimo Travels, mostly focuses on sustainable travel, although I also write about other topics related to cultures and randomness. Besides a random American name generator, I’ve created almost 100 other random generators, including several for U.S. places such as cities, counties, and states.
I’ve taken two trips around the world, and I visited the United States on both. On the first trip, it took me 18 days to reach the U.S. by cargo ship across the Pacific. On the second trip, I traveled across the country by Amtrak.
You can find all my content about the United States here.