Ganesh
The Hindu elephant god, remover of obstacles.
Name Census estimates that about 284 living Americans carry the first name Ganesh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ganesh today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ganesh births was 1993 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ganesh. 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 Ganesh with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
284
~ 1 in 1,206,881 Americans
Peak year
1993
14 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2021 SSA rank
#11,206
Tracked since 1977
Census
Ganesh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,981 people with the first name Ganesh, which placed it at #5,671 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
#5,671
National first-name rank
People counted
3.0K
2,981 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
89.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ganesh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ganesh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and White (2.9%). 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 Ganesh 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 Ganesh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander89.7% · 2,673
- Black or African American3.7% · 110
- White2.9% · 85
- Two or more races1.9% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 30
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 27
Popularity
Ganesh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ganesh 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 102 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
Ganesh 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 Ganesh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ganeshs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ganesh
The name Ganesh has its origins in the Sanskrit language and Hindu mythology. It is the name of the elephant-headed Hindu deity who is widely revered as the remover of obstacles and the patron of arts, sciences, and intellect.
The name Ganesh is derived from the Sanskrit words "Gana" meaning a group of beings, and "Isha" meaning lord or master. Together, Ganesh means the Lord of the Ganas or the leader of the celestial troops. The name is also associated with the Sanskrit word "Ganapataye," which translates to the remover of obstacles.
Ganesh, also known as Ganapati or Vinayaka, has been mentioned in various ancient Hindu texts, including the Vedas, Puranas, and the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The earliest known mention of Ganesh is in the Rigveda, one of the oldest sacred texts in Hinduism, dated around 1500-1200 BCE.
The first recorded appearance of the name Ganesh can be traced back to the 4th or 5th century CE, during the Gupta period in India. This era is considered the classical age of Hindu culture, and Ganesh gained widespread popularity as a deity during this time.
Some notable historical figures with the name Ganesh include:
1. Ganesh Utsav (1893-1944), an Indian independence activist and social reformer who played a significant role in the Indian freedom movement.
2. Ganesh Pyne (1937-2022), an acclaimed Indian painter and artist known for his unique style and surrealistic depictions of human figures and animals.
3. Ganesh Naik (1914-1977), an Indian politician and freedom fighter who served as the Governor of Odisha and West Bengal in India.
4. Ganesh Saili (1937-2021), an Indian writer, historian, and educator who authored several books on the history and culture of the Himalayan region.
5. Ganesh Ghogre (1907-1964), an Indian classical vocalist and composer who was a prominent figure in the Hindustani music tradition.
The name Ganesh continues to hold immense cultural and religious significance in various parts of the world, particularly in India and regions with a significant Hindu population. It is a name that represents the principles of wisdom, prosperity, and overcoming obstacles, making it a popular choice for many families.
People
Ganesh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ganesh as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ganesh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ganesh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 284 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ganesh 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 1,206,881 US residents.
Is Ganesh a common name?
We classify Ganesh 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, 290 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ganesh most popular?
The single biggest year for Ganesh was 1993, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ganesh 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 Ganesh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,981 people with the name Ganesh, or 0.99 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,671 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 Ganesh 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 Ganesh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ganesh appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,974 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Ganesh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ganesh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and White (2.9%). 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 Ganesh most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ganesh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (2,673 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 Ganesh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ganesh a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ganesh in the SSA data are male. 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 Ganesh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ganesh 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 Ganesh 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 Ganesh?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.