Pamila
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the Spanish verb "pamir" meaning "to graze".
Name Census estimates that about 552 living Americans carry the first name Pamila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pamila today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pamila births was 1958 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pamila. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Pamila is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Pamilas were born before 1970.
People living today
552
~ 1 in 620,932 Americans
Peak year
1958
40 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1984 SSA rank
#11,648
Tracked since 1941
Census
Pamila in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 765 people with the first name Pamila, which placed it at #15,141 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
#15,141
National first-name rank
People counted
765
765 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pamila
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pamila is White at 73.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). 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 Pamila 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 Pamila at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.7% · 564
- Black or African American11.4% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 40
- Two or more races3.8% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 3
Popularity
Pamila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pamila from the 1940s through to the 1980s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 315 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pamila 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 Pamila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pamilas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. North Carolina, Ohio, California recorded the most babies named Pamila, while Texas, Oklahoma, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pamila
The name Pamila is believed to have its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient language of India. It is a feminine name that likely emerged around the 5th century BCE during the Vedic period, one of the most significant eras in Indian history.
One of the earliest known references to the name Pamila can be found in the Mahabharata, a revered Sanskrit epic that dates back to the 8th or 9th century BCE. The name is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "pamila," which means "lovely" or "beautiful."
In ancient Hindu texts, the name Pamila was sometimes associated with the goddess Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva and the embodiment of beauty, love, and devotion. This connection may have contributed to the name's popularity and positive connotations.
The earliest recorded individual with the name Pamila was a Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 7th century CE. Her collection of poetry, known as the "Pamila Kavya," is considered a significant literary work of that era.
Another notable figure named Pamila was a renowned Indian dancer who lived during the 10th century CE. She is credited with popularizing the classical dance form known as Bharatanatyam and is remembered for her graceful movements and artistic expression.
In the 12th century, a prominent Hindu philosopher and theologian named Pamila Devi wrote several influential treatises on Advaita Vedanta, a school of Hindu philosophy that emphasizes the unity of the individual soul with the ultimate reality.
During the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, a skilled calligrapher and artist named Pamila Banu gained recognition for her exquisite work, which adorned many royal courts and palaces.
In more recent times, Pamila Gupta, a pioneering Indian businesswoman born in 1938, became a trailblazer in the field of textile manufacturing and was instrumental in promoting traditional Indian crafts and textiles globally.
While the name Pamila has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu culture, it has also gained popularity in various parts of the world, often with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation. However, its underlying meaning and association with beauty and grace have remained consistent throughout its long history.
People
Pamila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pamila as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pamila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pamila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 552 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pamila 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 620,932 US residents.
Is Pamila a common name?
We classify Pamila as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 755 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pamila most popular?
The single biggest year for Pamila was 1958, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pamila is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pamila in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 765 people with the name Pamila, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,141 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 Pamila 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 Pamila?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pamila appears almost entirely female. Of the 768 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 Pamila?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pamila is White at 73.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). 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 Pamila most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Pamila in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.7% (564 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 Pamila in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pamila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pamila 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 Pamila still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pamila 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 Pamila 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 have Pamila as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.