Minda
Small, dear one; loving, caring, affectionate.
Name Census estimates that about 1,051 living Americans carry the first name Minda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Minda today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Minda births was 1951 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Minda. 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.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 326,122 Americans
Peak year
1951
38 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2023 SSA rank
#16,811
Tracked since 1880
Census
Minda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,982 people with the first name Minda, which placed it at #7,628 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
#7,628
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
1,982 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Minda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Minda is White at 51.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (33.6%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Minda 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 Minda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.8% · 1,026
- Asian and Pacific Islander33.6% · 665
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 129
- Black or African American4.4% · 88
- Two or more races2.7% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 20
Popularity
Minda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Minda from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 307 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Minda 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 Minda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mindas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, New York, Ohio recorded the most babies named Minda, while Texas, Oregon, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Minda
The name Minda has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was prevalent in ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "minda," meaning "precious" or "valuable." The name's roots can be traced back to the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE, when Sanskrit was the primary language of the Indian subcontinent.
In Hindu mythology, Minda is mentioned as the name of a celestial nymph or apsara, known for her beauty and grace. This association with divine beings and the spiritual realm contributed to the name's positive connotations and its enduring popularity.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Minda can be found in ancient Sanskrit texts and inscriptions dating back to the 3rd century BCE. One notable example is the Arthashastra, an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy, which mentions a character named Minda.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Minda. One such figure was Minda Devi (1508-1547), a prominent queen and warrior from the Mewar region of present-day Rajasthan, India. She was renowned for her bravery and played a crucial role in defending her kingdom against foreign invaders.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Minda Gunara (1876-1945), an Indonesian writer and activist who championed women's rights and education. Her literary works shed light on the struggles and experiences of women in colonial-era Indonesia.
In the realm of literature, Minda Feliciano (1925-2008) was a celebrated Puerto Rican poet and essayist. Her poetic works explored themes of identity, culture, and the human experience, earning her widespread acclaim and numerous literary awards.
Minda Calaguian (1930-2021) was a Filipino human rights activist and labor leader who dedicated her life to fighting for workers' rights and social justice. She played a pivotal role in the formation of several labor unions and advocacy organizations in the Philippines.
Lastly, Minda Mogorovic (1957-present) is a renowned Serbian painter and multimedia artist. Her vibrant and thought-provoking works have been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums around the world, earning her international recognition and critical acclaim.
These examples demonstrate the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals who have carried the name Minda throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods.
People
Minda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Minda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Minda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Minda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,051 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Minda 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 326,122 US residents.
Is Minda a common name?
We classify Minda as "Rare". It ranks above 90.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,600 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Minda most popular?
The single biggest year for Minda was 1951, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Minda is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Minda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,982 people with the name Minda, or 0.66 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,628 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 Minda 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 Minda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Minda leans strongly female. 1,946 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 33 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Minda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Minda is White at 51.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (33.6%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Minda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Minda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.8% (1,026 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 Minda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Minda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Minda 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 Minda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Minda 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 Minda 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 Minda?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Minda at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.