Kavita
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "poetry" or "verse".
Name Census estimates that about 738 living Americans carry the first name Kavita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kavita today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kavita births was 1983 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kavita. 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 Kavita with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
738
~ 1 in 464,437 Americans
Peak year
1983
33 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2018 SSA rank
#16,874
Tracked since 1968
Census
Kavita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,274 people with the first name Kavita, which placed it at #5,299 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
#5,299
National first-name rank
People counted
3.3K
3,274 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
88.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kavita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kavita is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Kavita 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 Kavita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander88.5% · 2,898
- Black or African American4.5% · 146
- Two or more races3.1% · 100
- White2.7% · 87
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 20
Popularity
Kavita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kavita from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 272 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kavita 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 Kavita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kavitas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Kavita, while New Jersey, Illinois, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kavita
Kavita is a feminine given name of Hindu origin, derived from the Sanskrit word "kavita" meaning "poetry" or "verse." The name can be traced back to ancient Indian texts and literature, where it was often associated with the arts, particularly poetry and music.
The earliest known use of the name Kavita dates back to the 6th century CE, during the Gupta period in India. This was a golden age for Sanskrit literature, and many poets and writers flourished during this time. It is possible that the name was used to honor the artistic and literary achievements of this era.
One notable historical figure with the name Kavita was Kavita Kalidas, a renowned Sanskrit poet and playwright who lived in the 4th or 5th century CE. She is credited with writing the play "Sringara Tilaka," a romantic comedy that explored themes of love and desire.
In the medieval period, the name Kavita was also associated with the devotional poetry of the Bhakti movement. Mirabai, a 16th-century Hindu mystic and poet, is believed to have had a close companion named Kavita, who was also a devotee of Lord Krishna.
During the 19th century, the name Kavita gained popularity among the Bengali Renaissance movement, which saw a revival of interest in Indian literature and culture. Kavita Krishnadas Pal (1809-1884) was a notable Bengali poet and educator who wrote extensively on the themes of love, nature, and spirituality.
Another prominent figure with the name Kavita was Kavita Kripalani (1904-1994), an Indian freedom fighter, politician, and social reformer. She was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and played a significant role in the Indian independence movement.
Throughout history, the name Kavita has been borne by various artists, writers, and intellectuals, reflecting its association with creativity, artistic expression, and literary pursuits. It continues to be a popular name in India and among the Indian diaspora worldwide, carrying a rich cultural heritage and a connection to the country's literary traditions.
People
Kavita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kavita as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kavita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kavita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 738 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kavita 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 464,437 US residents.
Is Kavita a common name?
We classify Kavita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 780 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kavita most popular?
The single biggest year for Kavita was 1983, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kavita is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kavita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,274 people with the name Kavita, or 1.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,299 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 Kavita 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 Kavita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kavita appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,281 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Kavita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kavita is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Kavita most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kavita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (2,898 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 Kavita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kavita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kavita 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 Kavita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kavita 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 Kavita 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 Kavita?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.