Ishaan
Of Hindi origin, meaning "Lord of the world" or "ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 5,152 living Americans carry the first name Ishaan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ishaan today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ishaan births was 2019 (289 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ishaan. 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 Ishaan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Ishaan is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
5.2K
~ 1 in 66,528 Americans
Peak year
2019
289 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#998
Tracked since 1990
Census
Ishaan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,035 people with the first name Ishaan, which placed it at #4,561 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
#4,561
National first-name rank
People counted
4.0K
4,035 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
90.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ishaan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ishaan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and White (2.3%). 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 Ishaan 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 Ishaan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.5% · 3,652
- Two or more races3.9% · 156
- White2.3% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 55
- Black or African American1.3% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 26
Popularity
Ishaan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ishaan 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 2,585 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ishaan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ishaan 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 Ishaan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ishaans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Texas recorded the most babies named Ishaan, while Tennessee, Indiana, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 184 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ishaan
The name Ishaan has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language that dates back several millennia. It is derived from the Sanskrit words "Isha," meaning lord or ruler, and "an," which is a suffix denoting possession or relationship. Thus, the name Ishaan can be interpreted to mean "belonging to the lord" or "lord's own."
In Hindu mythology, the name Ishaan is associated with Lord Shiva, one of the principal deities of Hinduism. It is believed that Ishaan was one of the names used to refer to Lord Shiva in ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, such as the Puranas and the Vedas.
The earliest recorded use of the name Ishaan dates back to the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE. During this time, the name was popular among the Brahmin caste, who were the priestly class in ancient Indian society.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Ishaan. One of the most famous was Ishaan Nath, a renowned Hindu philosopher and spiritual teacher who lived in the 9th century CE. He was a prominent figure in the Nath tradition, a spiritual movement that emerged in medieval India.
Another notable Ishaan was Ishaan Uttam, a 16th-century Hindu saint and mystic who was revered for his devotion to Lord Shiva. He is said to have performed numerous miracles and attracted a large following during his lifetime.
In more recent times, Ishaan Khatter, born in 1995, is a rising Bollywood actor who made his debut in the 2018 film "Dhadak." He has since appeared in several other successful movies and has garnered praise for his performances.
Ishaan Ghose, born in 1976, is an Indian writer and journalist who has authored several books and articles on a wide range of topics, including politics, culture, and social issues.
Ishaan Malhi, born in 1997, is a Canadian actor and model who has appeared in several television shows and films, including the popular Netflix series "Outer Banks."
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Ishaan, a name deeply rooted in the ancient traditions and cultural heritage of India.
People
Ishaan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ishaan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ishaan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ishaan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,152 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ishaan 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 66,528 US residents.
Is Ishaan a common name?
We classify Ishaan as "Rare". It ranks above 96.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,196 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ishaan most popular?
The single biggest year for Ishaan was 2019, when 289 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ishaan is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ishaan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,035 people with the name Ishaan, or 1.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,561 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 Ishaan 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 Ishaan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ishaan appears almost entirely male. Of the 4,039 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Ishaan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ishaan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and White (2.3%). 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 Ishaan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ishaan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (3,652 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 Ishaan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ishaan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ishaan 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 Ishaan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ishaan 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 Ishaan 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 common is the name Ishaan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.