title: Latoya (given name)
text: # Latoya (given name)
  
  Latoya is a feminine given name. Other variations of Latoya include Letoya. It is widely believed to be a variation of Toya, a Spanish nickname for Victoria. However, its origins are more ancient, being derived from "Latona", the Latin name of Leto, the Greco-Roman Mother Goddess, who by Zeus gave birth to Artemis and Apollo. It is because Leto/Latona was forced to give birth to her twins in hiding, on a floating island, that the name Latoya means "a flower that blooms and grows in spite of the darkness." Latoya is, therefore, associated with the lotus and the asiatic lilly. In It is considered to be an African-American name in the United States.
  
  ## People with the given name Latoya
  
  * LaToya London (born 1978), American R&B singer and former contestant on American Idol
  * LaToya Cantrell (born 1972), American politician elected Mayor of New Orleans in 2017
  * LaToya Thomas (born 1981), American professional basketball player with the WNBA
  * La Toya Jackson (born 1956), American singer and member of the famous Jackson family
  * LaToya Rodriguez (born 1983), American R&B singer
  * LaToyia Figueroa (1981–2005), American murder victim from Philadelphia
  * LeToya Luckett (born 1981), American singer and former member of Destiny's Child
  * Kamara Latoya James (1984-2014), Olympic fencer
  * Nadja LaToya Benaissa (born 1982), German singer and former member of No Angels
  * Latoyah Renee Jean Bentley (born 1989), English entrepreneur
  