Arhan
An Indian name meaning "one who is worthy" or "venerable".
Name Census estimates that about 341 living Americans carry the first name Arhan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Arhan today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arhan births was 2024 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arhan. 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 Arhan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
341
~ 1 in 1,005,145 Americans
Peak year
2024
31 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,597
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Arhan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arhan 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 168 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Arhan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arhan 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 Arhan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arhans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Arhan
The name Arhan is believed to have originated in the ancient Sanskrit language, which was widely spoken in the Indian subcontinent during the Vedic period (c. 1500–500 BCE). It is derived from the Sanskrit word "arhat," which means "worthy" or "one who has attained enlightenment." In the Buddhist tradition, an arhat is a person who has achieved spiritual perfection and is free from the cycle of rebirth.
The earliest recorded use of the name Arhan can be traced back to the ancient Hindu scriptures, particularly the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. In these texts, the term "arhat" is used to refer to individuals who have attained a state of spiritual enlightenment and liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Arhan was Arhan Nath, a 9th-century Indian philosopher and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of Advaita Vedanta, a branch of Hindu philosophy that emphasizes the non-dual nature of reality.
Another famous bearer of the name was Arhan Udgar, a 13th-century Sufi poet and mystic from present-day Afghanistan. His poetry, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human experience, is still celebrated and studied today.
In the realm of Buddhism, Arhan was also used as a honorific title for those who had attained the highest level of spiritual attainment, known as arahatship. One of the most renowned Buddhist arhats was Mahakashyapa, a disciple of the Buddha who is believed to have received the teachings directly from the enlightened one.
During the medieval period, the name Arhan gained popularity in certain regions of India and was adopted by various rulers and noblemen. One such figure was Arhan Singh, a 16th-century Rajput ruler who governed the princely state of Mewar in present-day Rajasthan.
In more recent times, the name Arhan has been used by several notable individuals, including Arhan Pratap Singh, an Indian cricketer who played for the national team in the 1970s, and Arhan Siddiqui, a Pakistani actor and model known for his work in television and film.
Overall, the name Arhan has a rich cultural and spiritual heritage, with its roots firmly planted in the ancient Indian subcontinent. Its association with enlightenment, spiritual awakening, and philosophical pursuits has endured throughout the centuries, making it a name that carries a sense of wisdom and reverence.
People
Arhan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arhan 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
Arhan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arhan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 341 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arhan 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 1,005,145 US residents.
Is Arhan a common name?
We classify Arhan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 344 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arhan most popular?
The single biggest year for Arhan was 2024, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arhan is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Arhan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arhan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arhan 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 Arhan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arhan 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 Arhan 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Arhan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.