Aahana
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "first ray of the sun".
Name Census estimates that about 935 living Americans carry the first name Aahana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aahana today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aahana births was 2018 (92 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aahana. 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 Aahana with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
935
~ 1 in 366,582 Americans
Peak year
2018
92 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,685
Tracked since 2005
Census
Aahana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 702 people with the first name Aahana, which placed it at #16,164 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
#16,164
National first-name rank
People counted
702
702 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
93.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aahana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aahana is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and White (1.6%). 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 Aahana 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 Aahana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander93.4% · 656
- Two or more races2.4% · 17
- White1.6% · 11
- Black or African American1.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 3
Popularity
Aahana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aahana from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 572 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Aahana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aahana 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 Aahana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aahanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Aahana, while Georgia, Florida, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aahana
Aahana is a feminine given name of Sanskrit origin, derived from the word 'ahana', which means 'day' or 'dawn'. It is a name primarily used in India, particularly in the northern regions. The earliest recorded use of this name dates back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, where it was often used as a symbolic representation of the first rays of the sun, signifying new beginnings and hope.
One of the earliest known references to the name Aahana can be found in the Mahabharata, a renowned Sanskrit epic dated around the 8th century BCE. In this text, Aahana is mentioned as the name of a celestial nymph, known for her beauty and grace. Additionally, the name appears in various Vedic hymns and verses, further solidifying its roots in ancient Indian culture and mythology.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Aahana. One such figure was Aahana Kumari (born in 1043 CE), a renowned poet and scholar from the Pala Empire in ancient Bengal. Her literary contributions, including the epic poem 'Aahana-Kavya', have left a lasting impact on the cultural landscape of the region.
Another notable Aahana was Aahana Devi (1501-1563 CE), a powerful ruler of the Garhwal Kingdom in the present-day Indian state of Uttarakhand. She was known for her strategic military prowess and her efforts to unify the region under her leadership.
In the field of classical Indian dance, Aahana Deori (1920-2001) was a celebrated exponent of the Sattriya dance form from Assam. Her dedication to preserving and promoting this ancient art form earned her numerous accolades, including the prestigious Padma Shri award from the Government of India.
Moving to more recent times, Aahana Kumra (born in 1985) is a prominent Indian film and television actress, known for her roles in critically acclaimed productions like "Lipstick Under My Burkha" and the Netflix series "Call My Agent: Bollywood".
Lastly, Aahana Rasheed (born in 1993) is a renowned Indian cricketer who has represented the national women's cricket team in various international tournaments. Her exceptional batting skills and sportsmanship have made her a role model for aspiring athletes in the country.
People
Aahana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aahana as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Aahana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aahana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 935 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aahana 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 366,582 US residents.
Is Aahana a common name?
We classify Aahana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 942 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aahana most popular?
The single biggest year for Aahana was 2018, when 92 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aahana is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aahana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 702 people with the name Aahana, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,164 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 Aahana 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 Aahana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aahana appears almost entirely female. Of the 695 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Aahana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aahana is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and White (1.6%). 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 Aahana most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Aahana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (656 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 Aahana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aahana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aahana 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 Aahana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aahana 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 Aahana 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 share the name Aahana?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.