Bisma
A Hindi name meaning "to be amazed" or "wonderous".
Name Census estimates that about 250 living Americans carry the first name Bisma. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bisma today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bisma births was 2001 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bisma. 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 Bisma with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
250
~ 1 in 1,371,017 Americans
Peak year
2001
16 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,628
Tracked since 1992
Census
Bisma in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 366 people with the first name Bisma, which placed it at #25,756 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
#25,756
National first-name rank
People counted
366
366 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
89.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bisma
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bisma is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.4%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Bisma 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 Bisma at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander89.1% · 326
- White4.4% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 9
- Black or African American1.6% · 6
- Two or more races1.6% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 3
Popularity
Bisma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bisma from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 100 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
Bisma 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 Bisma during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bismas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Bisma
The name Bisma has its origins in the Sanskrit language, tracing back to ancient times in the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Vishma," which means "wonderful" or "extraordinary." The earliest known usage of this name can be traced to the epic Hindu scripture, the Mahabharata, where Bishma was the name of a revered warrior and one of the central characters.
In the Mahabharata, Bishma was the son of the river goddess Ganga and the king Shantanu. He played a pivotal role in the great war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Bishma was renowned for his exceptional skills in warfare, his unwavering loyalty, and his adherence to the principles of dharma (righteousness). His character symbolized courage, sacrifice, and devotion to duty.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bisma can be found in the 5th century CE, when a king named Bisma ruled over parts of present-day Rajasthan in India. Throughout the centuries, the name has been borne by various notable figures, including Bisma Narain Singh (1842-1909), a prominent Indian landowner and philanthropist who established several educational institutions in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
In the 20th century, Bisma Narayan Singh (1911-1996) was a distinguished Indian politician and freedom fighter who served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh from 1977 to 1980. Another notable bearer of this name was Bisma Prasad Misra (1904-1983), an eminent scholar of Sanskrit literature and a recipient of the prestigious Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India.
The name Bisma has also been associated with several literary figures, such as Bisma Rajbangshi (1918-2001), a renowned Bengali poet and essayist from West Bengal, India. In the field of sports, Bisma Muktari (born 1990) is an Indonesian badminton player who has represented her country in various international tournaments.
While the name Bisma has its roots in Hindu mythology and Sanskrit literature, it has transcended cultural boundaries and has been adopted by various communities across the Indian subcontinent and beyond, reflecting its timeless appeal and the rich tapestry of cultural exchange.
People
Bisma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bisma as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bisma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bisma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 250 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bisma 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 1,371,017 US residents.
Is Bisma a common name?
We classify Bisma as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 254 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bisma most popular?
The single biggest year for Bisma was 2001, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bisma is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bisma in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 366 people with the name Bisma, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,756 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 Bisma 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 Bisma?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bisma leans strongly female. 360 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Bisma?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bisma is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.4%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Bisma most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Bisma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (326 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 Bisma in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bisma a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bisma 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 Bisma still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bisma 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 Bisma 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 Bisma?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.