Gurinder
A masculine given name of Indian origin meaning "Lord of the Universe".
Name Census estimates that about 25 living Americans carry the first name Gurinder. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gurinder today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gurinder births was 1999 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gurinder. 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 Gurinder with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gurinder. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
25
~ 1 in 13,710,174 Americans
Peak year
1999
6 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2004 SSA rank
#11,979
Tracked since 1987
Census
Gurinder in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 902 people with the first name Gurinder, which placed it at #13,398 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
#13,398
National first-name rank
People counted
902
902 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gurinder
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gurinder is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.7%). 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 Gurinder 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 Gurinder at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.3% · 869
- White1.8% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 6
- Two or more races0.7% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 3
- Black or African American0.2% · 2
Popularity
Gurinder: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gurinder from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 15 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Gurinder remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gurinder 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 Gurinder during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gurinder
The name Gurinder has its origins in the Indian subcontinent and is derived from the Sanskrit words "guru" meaning "teacher" or "master", and "indra" meaning "king" or "lord". It is a name commonly associated with the Sikh faith and culture.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Gurinder can be traced back to the late 15th century, during the time of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. It was common for Sikhs to adopt names that incorporated the word "guru" as a way of honoring their spiritual guides.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Gurinder was Gurinder Singh Dhillon, a Sikh warrior and military commander who lived in the late 17th century. He played a significant role in defending the Sikh community against the Mughal Empire's persecution.
Another prominent individual with this name was Gurinder Chadha, an acclaimed British film director of Indian descent, born in 1960. She is best known for her acclaimed films "Bhaji on the Beach" and "Bend It Like Beckham", which explored themes of cultural identity and gender roles.
In the realm of sports, Gurinder Singh Sandhu, born in 1993, is an Australian cricketer who has represented the national team in Tests and One Day International matches. He is known for his impressive pace and swing bowling abilities.
Gurinder Chadha, a different individual from the filmmaker mentioned earlier, was a British actress and singer of Indian descent, born in 1957. She gained recognition for her roles in several British television series and films in the 1980s and 1990s.
Gurinder Khalsa, born in 1954, is an American entrepreneur and activist. He is the co-founder of Sikhnet, an organization dedicated to promoting Sikh values and teachings worldwide through various media platforms.
While the name Gurinder has its roots in the Sikh tradition, it has also gained popularity among other communities in India and beyond, transcending religious and cultural boundaries.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Gurinder
People
Gurinder + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gurinder 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
Gurinder: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gurinder?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 25 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gurinder 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 13,710,174 US residents.
Is Gurinder a common name?
We classify Gurinder as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 26 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gurinder most popular?
The single biggest year for Gurinder was 1999, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gurinder is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gurinder in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 902 people with the name Gurinder, or 0.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,398 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 Gurinder 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 Gurinder?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Gurinder on both sides of the split. Of the 901 people counted with this name, 650 were male (72.1%) and 251 were female (27.9%). 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 Gurinder?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gurinder is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.7%). 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 Gurinder most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Gurinder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.3% (869 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 Gurinder in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gurinder a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gurinder 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 Gurinder still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gurinder 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 Gurinder 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 Gurinder?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.