Aaryan
An Indian name meaning "noble" or "honourable".
Name Census estimates that about 2,063 living Americans carry the first name Aaryan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Aaryan today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aaryan births was 2016 (142 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aaryan. 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 Aaryan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Aaryan is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.1K
~ 1 in 166,144 Americans
Peak year
2016
142 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,112
Tracked since 2001
Census
Aaryan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,597 people with the first name Aaryan, which placed it at #8,909 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
#8,909
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,597 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
85.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aaryan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aaryan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and White (3.8%). 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 Aaryan 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 Aaryan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander85.2% · 1,360
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 62
- White3.8% · 61
- Two or more races3.1% · 50
- Black or African American2.9% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 17
Gender
Gender distribution for Aaryan
Out of the 2,080 babies given the name Aaryan since 1880, 99.7% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Aaryan as a male name
- Ranked #2,112 in 2024
- 70 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (142 births)
Aaryan as a female name
- Ranked #14,598 in 2013
- 6 female births in 2013
- Peak: 2013 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aaryan leans strongly male. 1,570 people counted with this name were male (98.3%), compared with 27 female bearers (1.7%).
Popularity
Aaryan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aaryan 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 1,138 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Aaryan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aaryan 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 Aaryan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aaryans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Aaryan, while Colorado, Michigan, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 85 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aaryan
The name Aaryan has its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language, which was spoken in the Indian subcontinent around the 2nd millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Arya," which means "noble" or "honorable." The name gained prominence in the Vedic period, which is considered one of the most influential eras in Indian history.
The term "Arya" held great significance in Vedic literature, particularly in the Rig Veda, one of the oldest and most revered Hindu scriptures. It was used to refer to the Indo-Aryan people who inhabited the Indian subcontinent during that time. The name Aaryan was given to male children born into these noble families.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aaryan can be found in the Mahabharata, a renowned Sanskrit epic poem dating back to the 8th or 9th century BCE. In the epic, Aaryan is mentioned as the name of a character who was the son of Pandu, one of the central figures in the story.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Aaryan. In the 4th century BCE, Aaryan was the name of a famous Indian philosopher and grammarian who authored the foundational text on Sanskrit grammar, known as the Ashtadhyayi.
During the Gupta Empire, which ruled over large parts of the Indian subcontinent from the 4th to the 6th century CE, Aaryan was the name of a renowned scholar and mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of astronomy.
In more recent times, Aaryan was the name of a prominent Indian freedom fighter and social reformer who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He played a crucial role in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule.
Another notable figure named Aaryan was a celebrated Indian writer and poet who lived in the 20th century. His works were widely acclaimed and had a profound impact on modern Indian literature.
Lastly, Aaryan was also the name of a famous Indian cricketer who represented the national team in the 1990s and early 2000s. He was known for his exceptional batting skills and was regarded as one of the best players of his generation.
People
Aaryan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aaryan 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
Aaryan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aaryan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,063 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aaryan 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 166,144 US residents.
Is Aaryan a common name?
We classify Aaryan as "Rare". It ranks above 93.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,080 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aaryan most popular?
The single biggest year for Aaryan was 2016, when 142 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aaryan is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aaryan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,597 people with the name Aaryan, or 0.53 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,909 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 Aaryan 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 Aaryan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aaryan leans strongly male. 1,570 people counted with this name were male (98.3%), compared with 27 female bearers (1.7%). 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 Aaryan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aaryan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and White (3.8%). 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 Aaryan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Aaryan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.2% (1,360 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 Aaryan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aaryan a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Aaryan 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 Aaryan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aaryan 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 Aaryan 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 have Aaryan as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.