Anari
Feminine Persian name meaning "pomegranate seed".
Name Census estimates that about 1,099 living Americans carry the first name Anari. It is a predominantly female name (90.8% of registrations). The average person named Anari today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anari births was 2021 (88 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anari. 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.
Key insights
- • Anari is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 311,878 Americans
Peak year
2021
88 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,374
Tracked since 1995
Census
Anari in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 660 people with the first name Anari, which placed it at #16,913 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
#16,913
National first-name rank
People counted
660
660 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
80.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anari
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anari is Black at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and White (4.2%). 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 Anari 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 Anari at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American80.2% · 529
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 60
- White4.2% · 28
- Two or more races3.9% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Anari
Anari leans heavily female at 90.8% of total registrations, but 102 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Anari as a male name
- Ranked #8,997 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (21 births)
Anari as a female name
- Ranked #4,374 in 2024
- 32 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (76 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Anari leans strongly female. 574 people counted with this name were female (88.2%), compared with 77 male bearers (11.8%).
Popularity
Anari: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Anari from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 537 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Anari remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Anari 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 Anari during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Anaris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Florida, Georgia, New York recorded the most babies named Anari, while Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Anari
The name Anari has its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language of India, dating back to around the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "anari," which means "without a husband" or "unmarried woman." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to unmarried women or to those who chose to remain unmarried for religious or spiritual reasons.
In Hindu mythology, there is a reference to an Anari, who was a celestial nymph or apsara known for her beauty and grace. She is mentioned in the epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana, although the details of her role and significance vary across different texts and interpretations.
The earliest recorded use of the name Anari can be traced back to ancient Indian inscriptions and manuscripts from the Gupta period (around 320-550 CE). During this time, it was likely used as a personal name for women, reflecting the cultural and social norms of the era.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Anari. One of the earliest examples is Anari Devi, a 12th-century Indian poet and mystic from Bengal. Her verses and teachings focused on the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment and the divine love for the Supreme Being.
In the 16th century, Anari Begum was a prominent figure in the Mughal Empire. She was the daughter of Emperor Akbar and is known for her patronage of art, literature, and architecture. Her tomb, located in Agra, is a remarkable example of Mughal architecture and craftsmanship.
Another notable Anari was Anari Bai, an 18th-century Indian classical dancer and courtesan from the Lucknow region. She was renowned for her expertise in the Kathak dance form and her contribution to the preservation of this ancient art form.
In the 19th century, Anari Devi was a renowned Indian painter and artist from the princely state of Kishangarh. Her artworks, depicting scenes from Hindu mythology and court life, are celebrated for their vibrant colors and intricate details.
Moving to the 20th century, Anari Vajpayee was an Indian freedom fighter and social activist from Uttar Pradesh. She actively participated in the Indian independence movement and worked towards the upliftment of women and underprivileged communities.
While the name Anari has its roots in ancient India, it has transcended cultural and geographical boundaries over time. Its unique meaning and historical significance have made it a distinctive and intriguing choice for parents seeking meaningful names for their children.
People
Anari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anari 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
Anari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,099 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anari 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 311,878 US residents.
Is Anari a common name?
We classify Anari as "Rare". It ranks above 90.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,108 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anari most popular?
The single biggest year for Anari was 2021, when 88 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anari is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Anari in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 660 people with the name Anari, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,913 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 Anari 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 Anari?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Anari leans strongly female. 574 people counted with this name were female (88.2%), compared with 77 male bearers (11.8%). 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 Anari?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anari is Black at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and White (4.2%). 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 Anari most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Anari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (529 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 Anari in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anari a female name?
Yes, 90.8% of people registered as Anari 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 Anari still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anari 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 Anari 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 the name Anari?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Anari, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.