Artha
A Sanskrit name meaning wealth, purpose, goal or object.
Name Census estimates that about 155 living Americans carry the first name Artha. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 82.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Artha today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Artha births was 1922 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Artha. 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 Artha with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Artha is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Arthas were born before 1957.
People living today
155
~ 1 in 2,211,318 Americans
Peak year
1922
23 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1964 SSA rank
#4,071
Tracked since 1895
Census
Artha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 299 people with the first name Artha, which placed it at #29,541 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
#29,541
National first-name rank
People counted
299
299 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Artha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Artha is White at 48.5%. The next largest groups are Black (37.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.7%). 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 Artha 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 Artha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.5% · 145
- Black or African American37.1% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.7% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 5
- Two or more races1.7% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Artha
Artha leans heavily female at 82.2% of total registrations, but 117 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Artha as a male name
- Ranked #4,071 in 1964
- 5 male births in 1964
- Peak: 1941 (10 births)
Artha as a female name
- Ranked #6,124 in 1973
- 8 female births in 1973
- Peak: 1922 (23 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Artha on both sides of the split. Of the 301 people counted with this name, 78 were male (25.9%) and 223 were female (74.1%).
Popularity
Artha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Artha from the 1890s through to the 1970s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 159 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Artha 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 Artha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arthas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Artha
The name Artha has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It is believed to have been in use since the 2nd millennium BCE. The name Artha is derived from the Sanskrit word "artha," which means "purpose," "meaning," or "wealth."
In ancient Hindu texts, such as the Vedas and the Upanishads, the term "artha" is mentioned as one of the four primary goals of human life, alongside dharma (righteousness), kama (desire), and moksha (liberation). It represents the pursuit of material prosperity, economic well-being, and worldly success.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Artha can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In this text, Artha is mentioned as the name of a character who was a skilled archer and a warrior in the service of the Pandava princes.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Artha. One prominent example is Artha Shastra, a renowned Indian teacher and philosopher who lived in the 4th century BCE. He is credited with writing the Arthashastra, an influential treatise on statecraft, economic policies, and military strategy.
Another historically significant figure with the name Artha was Artha Vindu, a 9th-century Indian mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the field of mathematics, particularly in the development of algorithms for calculating the positions of celestial bodies.
In the realm of literature, Artha Ananda was a celebrated Bengali poet and writer who lived in the 18th century. His works, which explored themes of spirituality and human emotion, were widely acclaimed and influential in the literary circles of his time.
Moving forward in time, Artha Tattvabhushan was a prominent Indian social reformer and educator who lived in the late 19th century. He played a crucial role in advocating for women's education and promoting social reforms in Bengal.
Another noteworthy individual named Artha was Artha Devi, a powerful queen who ruled the Sunga Empire in the 2nd century BCE. She was known for her military prowess and her efforts to expand the empire's territories.
The name Artha has a rich historical significance, with its roots tracing back to ancient Sanskrit texts and Hindu philosophy. It has been borne by scholars, poets, warriors, and rulers throughout the centuries, reflecting the diverse cultural heritage and intellectual traditions of the Indian subcontinent.
People
Artha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Artha 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
Artha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Artha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 155 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Artha 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 2,211,318 US residents.
Is Artha a common name?
We classify Artha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 659 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Artha most popular?
The single biggest year for Artha was 1922, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Artha is about 79 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Artha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 299 people with the name Artha, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,541 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 Artha 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 Artha?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Artha on both sides of the split. Of the 301 people counted with this name, 78 were male (25.9%) and 223 were female (74.1%). 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 Artha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Artha is White at 48.5%. The next largest groups are Black (37.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.7%). 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 Artha most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Artha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.5% (145 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 Artha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Artha a female name?
Yes, 82.2% of people registered as Artha 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 Artha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Artha 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 Artha 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 Artha?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.