Adarsh
A masculine given name of Sanskrit origin meaning "ideal" or "perfect".
Name Census estimates that about 606 living Americans carry the first name Adarsh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Adarsh today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Adarsh births was 2008 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Adarsh. 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 Adarsh with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
606
~ 1 in 565,601 Americans
Peak year
2008
40 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,233
Tracked since 1975
Census
Adarsh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,167 people with the first name Adarsh, which placed it at #11,134 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
#11,134
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,167 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adarsh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adarsh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Adarsh 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 Adarsh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.2% · 1,111
- White2.9% · 34
- Two or more races0.8% · 9
- Black or African American0.5% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Adarsh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Adarsh from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 301 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Adarsh 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 Adarsh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Adarshs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Adarsh, while Illinois, New Jersey, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Adarsh
The name Adarsh finds its roots in the Sanskrit language, originating from the Indian subcontinent. The word "adarsha" in Sanskrit means "ideal" or "perfect," and the name is believed to have emerged during the ancient period of Indian history, possibly as early as the 3rd century BCE.
The earliest recorded use of the name Adarsh can be traced back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, where it was used to describe individuals who embodied virtues and exemplary qualities. It was a name frequently bestowed upon children with the hope that they would grow to become role models and upstanding members of society.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Adarsh was a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived during the 5th century CE. His works, though not widely preserved, were celebrated for their literary excellence and profound insights into the human condition.
In the 11th century, Adarsh Shastri, a revered Hindu scholar and philosopher, made significant contributions to the interpretation and dissemination of ancient Vedic texts. His teachings and writings had a lasting impact on the intellectual and spiritual landscape of medieval India.
During the Mughal Era, which spanned from the 16th to the 19th centuries, the name Adarsh gained popularity among the ruling elite and aristocracy. One noteworthy figure was Adarsh Khan, a influential military commander and strategist who served under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in the late 17th century.
In more recent times, Adarsh Sein Anand, an Indian jurist and former Chief Justice of India, was born in 1936 and is renowned for his contributions to the country's legal system and his unwavering commitment to upholding the principles of justice and equality.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Adarsh is Adarsh Gourav, an Indian actor who gained international recognition for his powerful performance in the 2020 film "The White Tiger," earning him a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Throughout its long history, the name Adarsh has carried connotations of excellence, virtue, and an aspiration for individuals to strive towards their highest potential. Its enduring legacy reflects the cultural values and ideals that have shaped Indian society over the centuries.
People
Adarsh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Adarsh 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
Adarsh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Adarsh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 606 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Adarsh 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 565,601 US residents.
Is Adarsh a common name?
We classify Adarsh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 613 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Adarsh most popular?
The single biggest year for Adarsh was 2008, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Adarsh is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Adarsh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,167 people with the name Adarsh, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,134 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 Adarsh 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 Adarsh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Adarsh leans strongly male. 1,084 people counted with this name were male (92.8%), compared with 84 female bearers (7.2%). 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 Adarsh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adarsh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Adarsh most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Adarsh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.2% (1,111 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 Adarsh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Adarsh a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Adarsh 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 Adarsh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Adarsh 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 Adarsh 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 common is the name Adarsh?
See how many Americans are named Adarsh on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.