Atira
A feminine name derived from the Hindu name Atirath, meaning "first rays of the sun".
Name Census estimates that about 285 living Americans carry the first name Atira. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Atira today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Atira births was 1998 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Atira. 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.
People living today
285
~ 1 in 1,202,647 Americans
Peak year
1998
21 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2020 SSA rank
#15,386
Tracked since 1978
Census
Atira in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 301 people with the first name Atira, which placed it at #29,423 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
#29,423
National first-name rank
People counted
301
301 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
45.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Atira
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Atira is Black at 45.8%. The next largest groups are White (28.9%) and Two or More Races (11.3%). 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 Atira 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 Atira at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American45.8% · 138
- White28.9% · 87
- Two or more races11.3% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.0% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Atira: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Atira from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 137 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
Atira 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 Atira during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Atiras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Atira
The name Atira is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which was prevalent in ancient India. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "atirā," which means "traveler" or "wanderer." It is thought to have been used as a name for those who embarked on spiritual journeys or were adventurous by nature.
In Hindu mythology, Atira is mentioned as the name of a celestial nymph or Apsara, known for her beauty and grace. The Apsaras were often depicted as celestial dancers and entertainers in the court of the gods.
The earliest recorded use of the name Atira can be traced back to ancient Indian texts and scriptures, such as the Vedas and Puranas, where it was used as a name for various characters and deities.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Atira was a renowned Indian philosopher and scholar who lived during the 6th century CE. She was renowned for her contributions to the field of logic and is believed to have authored several treatises on the subject.
Another notable figure with the name Atira was a 12th-century Indian poet and mystic. Her poetry was deeply influenced by the Bhakti movement and explored themes of divine love and devotion. She is believed to have been born in the year 1179 CE.
In the 16th century, there was an Indian princess named Atira who ruled over a small kingdom in the northern region of the country. She was known for her wisdom, diplomacy, and patronage of the arts.
During the 17th century, an Indian painter named Atira gained fame for her intricate and vibrant miniature paintings, which depicted scenes from Hindu mythology and court life. She is believed to have been born around 1620 CE.
In more recent times, Atira was the name of a celebrated Indian classical dancer who lived during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was instrumental in reviving and popularizing the ancient Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam. She was born in 1876 and passed away in 1938.
While the name Atira has its roots in ancient India, it has found popularity in various other cultures and regions over the centuries, often adapted to fit local linguistic and cultural contexts.
People
Atira + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Atira 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
Atira: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Atira?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 285 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Atira 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 1,202,647 US residents.
Is Atira a common name?
We classify Atira as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 292 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Atira most popular?
The single biggest year for Atira was 1998, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Atira is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Atira in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 301 people with the name Atira, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,423 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 Atira 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 Atira?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Atira appears almost entirely female. Of the 296 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Atira?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Atira is Black at 45.8%. The next largest groups are White (28.9%) and Two or More Races (11.3%). 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 Atira most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Atira in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.8% (138 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 Atira in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Atira a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Atira 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 Atira still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Atira 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 Atira 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 share the name Atira?
Want to know how many Americans are named Atira? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.