Diya
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "light" or "lamp".
Name Census estimates that about 4,921 living Americans carry the first name Diya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Diya today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Diya births was 2009 (314 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Diya. 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 Diya with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Diya is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
4.9K
~ 1 in 69,651 Americans
Peak year
2009
314 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2009 SSA rank
#1,682
Tracked since 1991
Census
Diya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,745 people with the first name Diya, which placed it at #4,081 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
#4,081
National first-name rank
People counted
4.7K
4,745 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
89.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Diya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Diya is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Diya 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 Diya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander89.8% · 4,262
- White3.6% · 173
- Two or more races3.0% · 140
- Black or African American2.4% · 115
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 26
Gender
Gender distribution for Diya
Out of the 4,971 babies given the name Diya since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Diya as a male name
- Ranked #12,979 in 2009
- 5 male births in 2009
- Peak: 2008 (7 births)
Diya as a female name
- Ranked #1,682 in 2024
- 121 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (309 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Diya leans strongly female. 4,654 people counted with this name were female (97.9%), compared with 98 male bearers (2.1%).
Popularity
Diya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Diya from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,313 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Diya 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 Diya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Diyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Texas recorded the most babies named Diya, while Tennessee, Alabama, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 156 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Diya
The name Diya originates from the Sanskrit language and has its roots in ancient Indian culture, dating back to the first millennium BCE. The word "diya" in Sanskrit means "lamp" or "light," and it is believed that the name was initially given to children with the wish for them to be a guiding light or source of illumination in the world.
In Hindu mythology, the diya or lamp holds significant symbolism. It represents the dispelling of darkness and ignorance, and the lighting of a diya is an essential part of many Hindu festivals and rituals. The name Diya is therefore closely associated with these spiritual and cultural traditions.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Diya can be found in ancient Hindu texts, such as the Puranas, which are a collection of narratives and legends that date back to the first few centuries CE. However, it is likely that the name was in use even before these written records.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Diya. One of the earliest recorded examples is Diya Kumari (1835-1898), who was a Rajput princess and the last ruling monarch of the princely state of Sirmoor in present-day Himachal Pradesh, India.
Another important figure was Diya Avasthi (1901-1944), an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary who actively participated in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule. She was imprisoned multiple times for her involvement in the struggle for freedom.
In more recent times, Diya Mirza (born 1981) is an Indian actress, model, and producer who has appeared in several Bollywood films and is also known for her philanthropic work and advocacy for various social causes.
Diya Abdo (born 1983) is a Palestinian-American writer and academic, known for her work on gender, sexuality, and Arab feminism. Her book "Territories of Violence: Decolonial Feminism from the Diaspora" explores the intersections of race, gender, and colonialism.
Additionally, Diya Kamble (born 1988) is an Indian cricketer who has represented the national women's cricket team and is considered one of the best all-rounders in the sport's history.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Diya throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human endeavor.
People
Diya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Diya 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
Diya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Diya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,921 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Diya 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 69,651 US residents.
Is Diya a common name?
We classify Diya as "Rare". It ranks above 96.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,971 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Diya most popular?
The single biggest year for Diya was 2009, when 314 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Diya is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Diya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,745 people with the name Diya, or 1.57 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,081 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 Diya 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 Diya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Diya leans strongly female. 4,654 people counted with this name were female (97.9%), compared with 98 male bearers (2.1%). 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 Diya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Diya is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Diya most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Diya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (4,262 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 Diya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Diya a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Diya 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 Diya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Diya 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 Diya 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 are called Diya?
You can see how many Americans are named Diya on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.