Dhara
Feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning stream or flow.
Name Census estimates that about 576 living Americans carry the first name Dhara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dhara today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dhara births was 2024 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dhara. 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 Dhara with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
576
~ 1 in 595,060 Americans
Peak year
2024
28 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,790
Tracked since 1985
Census
Dhara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,178 people with the first name Dhara, which placed it at #11,039 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
#11,039
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,178 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
86.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dhara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dhara is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.3%. The next largest groups are White (4.9%) and Hispanic (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 Dhara 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 Dhara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander86.3% · 1,017
- White4.9% · 58
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 50
- Two or more races2.6% · 31
- Black or African American1.9% · 22
Popularity
Dhara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dhara from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 185 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Dhara remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dhara 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 Dhara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dharas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New Jersey, Illinois, California recorded the most babies named Dhara, while New York, California, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dhara
The name Dhara has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages and has been the root of many languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent. The word "dhara" in Sanskrit means "stream" or "flow," referring to the natural movement of water.
This name can be traced back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, where it was often used as a metaphor for the continuous flow of knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual enlightenment. The name Dhara was particularly revered in Hindu mythology, where it was associated with various deities and sacred rivers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dhara can be found in the Rigveda, one of the oldest and most sacred Hindu scriptures, dating back to around 1500-1200 BCE. In the Rigveda, the name is mentioned in connection with the goddess Saraswati, who is considered the personification of knowledge, learning, and creativity.
Throughout history, several prominent figures have borne the name Dhara. One notable example is Dhara Shukla, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 12th century CE. Her literary works, including the famous Pavanaduta, have been widely celebrated for their poetic excellence and philosophical depth.
Another individual of historical significance is Dhara Singh Rathore, a brave Rajput warrior who lived in the 16th century CE. He played a pivotal role in defending the Rajput kingdoms against the Mughal Empire and is remembered for his valor and loyalty.
In the realm of spirituality, Dhara Mata Shri was a revered saint and mystic who lived in the 15th century CE. She is venerated in parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan for her profound spiritual teachings and her contribution to the Bhakti movement, a Hindu devotional tradition.
The name Dhara has also been associated with notable figures in the field of arts and culture. Dhara Vikas was a celebrated classical dancer and choreographer from the 20th century, renowned for her contributions to the revival and promotion of traditional Indian dance forms.
Lastly, Dhara Patel was a prominent social activist and educator who worked tirelessly for the empowerment of women and underprivileged communities in the early 20th century. Her efforts in promoting education and social reform have left a lasting impact on society.
People
Dhara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dhara as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dhara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dhara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 576 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dhara 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 595,060 US residents.
Is Dhara a common name?
We classify Dhara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 588 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dhara most popular?
The single biggest year for Dhara was 2024, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dhara is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dhara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,178 people with the name Dhara, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,039 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 Dhara 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 Dhara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dhara leans strongly female. 1,173 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 19 male bearers (1.6%). 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 Dhara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dhara is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.3%. The next largest groups are White (4.9%) and Hispanic (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 Dhara most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Dhara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (1,017 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 Dhara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dhara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dhara 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 Dhara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dhara 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 Dhara 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 Dhara?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.