Krishan
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "dark-skinned" or "dark-complexioned".
Name Census estimates that about 403 living Americans carry the first name Krishan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Krishan today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Krishan births was 2002 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Krishan. 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 Krishan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
403
~ 1 in 850,507 Americans
Peak year
2002
20 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2022 SSA rank
#8,685
Tracked since 1976
Census
Krishan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,064 people with the first name Krishan, which placed it at #11,878 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
#11,878
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,064 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
79.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Krishan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Krishan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and White (6.0%). 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 Krishan 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 Krishan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander79.2% · 843
- Two or more races7.0% · 75
- White6.0% · 64
- Black or African American5.6% · 60
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Krishan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Krishan from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 145 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Krishan 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 Krishan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Krishans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Krishan
The name Krishan has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that was the root of many modern Indian languages. It is derived from the word "Krishna," which means "black" or "dark-colored." This name has a strong connection to Hindu mythology, where it is associated with the Hindu god, Krishna, an avatar of Lord Vishnu.
The name Krishan finds its earliest references in the Hindu sacred texts, such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Puranas, which date back to the ancient times of Indian history. These texts narrate the life and teachings of Lord Krishna, who is revered as a divine figure in Hinduism. The name has been in use in India for centuries, particularly among the Hindu community.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Krishan can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, which is believed to have been composed between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE. In this epic, the character of Krishna plays a pivotal role, guiding the Pandava princes through the battles of the Kurukshetra war.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Krishan. One of the most famous was Krishan Chandra Bhanja Deo (1835-1914), an Indian ruler and philanthropist who ruled the princely state of Mayurbhanj in Odisha. Another renowned individual was Krishan Kant (1927-2002), an Indian philosopher and writer who made significant contributions to the field of comparative religion and Indian philosophy.
In the realm of arts and culture, the name Krishan has also been celebrated. Krishan Khanna (1925-2022) was an Indian painter and writer, known for his contributions to the modern art movement in India. Krishan Arora (1940-2020) was a renowned Punjabi writer and poet, who received numerous accolades for his literary works.
Krishan Baldev Vaid (1927-1994) was an Indian journalist and writer who served as the editor of The Times of India, one of India's leading English-language newspapers. He was widely respected for his journalistic integrity and commitment to truth.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals who have carried the name Krishan throughout history, reflecting its deep-rooted cultural and religious significance in Indian society.
People
Krishan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Krishan 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
Krishan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Krishan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 403 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Krishan 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 850,507 US residents.
Is Krishan a common name?
We classify Krishan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 410 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Krishan most popular?
The single biggest year for Krishan was 2002, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Krishan is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Krishan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,064 people with the name Krishan, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,878 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 Krishan 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 Krishan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Krishan leans strongly male. 1,003 people counted with this name were male (93.8%), compared with 66 female bearers (6.2%). 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 Krishan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Krishan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and White (6.0%). 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 Krishan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Krishan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.2% (843 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 Krishan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Krishan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Krishan 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 Krishan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Krishan 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 Krishan 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 named Krishan?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.