Panhia
Feminine name of Portuguese origin meaning "portion" or "bread portion".
Name Census estimates that about 94 living Americans carry the first name Panhia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Panhia today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Panhia births was 1992 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Panhia. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Panhia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
94
~ 1 in 3,646,323 Americans
Peak year
1992
14 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2000 SSA rank
#16,911
Tracked since 1987
Census
Panhia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 357 people with the first name Panhia, which placed it at #26,204 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
#26,204
National first-name rank
People counted
357
357 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Panhia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Panhia is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.2%. The next largest groups are Black (1.1%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Panhia 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 Panhia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.2% · 347
- Black or African American1.1% · 4
- Two or more races0.8% · 3
- White0.6% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Panhia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Panhia from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 79 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
Panhia 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 Panhia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Panhias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Panhia
The name Panhia originates from the ancient Khmer language spoken in present-day Cambodia. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "panha," meaning "question" or "query." The name likely emerged during the Khmer Empire, which ruled over much of mainland Southeast Asia from the 9th to the 15th centuries.
Panhia was a relatively common name among the Khmer people during the height of the Angkor civilization. It is found inscribed on stone tablets and carvings from the Angkor Wat temple complex, one of the largest religious monuments in the world. The name's association with questions or queries may have held spiritual significance within the Buddhist and Hindu traditions prevalent in the region at the time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Panhia was a 12th-century Khmer scholar and court advisor who served under King Jayavarman VII. His writings on Buddhist philosophy and Khmer culture provide valuable insights into the intellectual and religious life of the Angkor period.
In the 14th century, a Khmer princess named Panhia was married to the heir to the Siamese throne, cementing an alliance between the two kingdoms. This union played a role in the cultural exchange and blending of Khmer and Thai traditions that followed.
During the 16th century, a Khmer poet and playwright named Panhia gained recognition for his dramatic works that drew upon traditional Khmer folklore and Buddhist teachings. His plays were performed at the royal court and helped preserve the rich literary heritage of the Khmer people.
In the 19th century, a Cambodian diplomat named Panhia was instrumental in negotiating treaties and establishing diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Cambodia and various European powers, including France and Britain. His efforts helped shape Cambodia's international relations during a period of colonial expansion in Southeast Asia.
Another notable figure with the name Panhia was a 20th-century Cambodian artist and sculptor who specialized in traditional Khmer stone carving techniques. His intricate carvings adorned temples and public spaces, preserving the country's artistic and cultural traditions in the face of modernization and political turmoil.
People
Panhia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Panhia 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
Panhia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Panhia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 94 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Panhia 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 3,646,323 US residents.
Is Panhia a common name?
We classify Panhia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 97 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Panhia most popular?
The single biggest year for Panhia was 1992, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Panhia is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Panhia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 357 people with the name Panhia, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,204 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 Panhia 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 Panhia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Panhia appears almost entirely female. Of the 353 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Panhia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Panhia is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.2%. The next largest groups are Black (1.1%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Panhia most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Panhia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.2% (347 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 Panhia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Panhia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Panhia 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 Panhia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Panhia 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 Panhia 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 share the name Panhia?
Find out how many people share the name Panhia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.