Pratham
The first or foremost, a Sanskrit name with connotations of primacy and excellence.
Name Census estimates that about 433 living Americans carry the first name Pratham. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Pratham today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pratham births was 2002 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pratham. 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 Pratham with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
433
~ 1 in 791,580 Americans
Peak year
2002
39 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,128
Tracked since 2001
Census
Pratham in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 496 people with the first name Pratham, which placed it at #20,722 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
#20,722
National first-name rank
People counted
496
496 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pratham
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pratham is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.6%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Pratham 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 Pratham at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.8% · 485
- White1.6% · 8
- Black or African American0.4% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 1
Popularity
Pratham: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pratham from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 220 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pratham 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 Pratham during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Prathams live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New Jersey, New York, California recorded the most babies named Pratham, while Texas, Illinois, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pratham
The name Pratham is derived from the Sanskrit language and has its roots in ancient Indian culture. The word "Pratham" means "first" or "foremost" in Sanskrit, suggesting that this name was likely given to firstborn sons or those considered exceptional or distinguished.
In Hindu mythology, Pratham is mentioned as an epithet for various deities, such as Brahma, the creator god, and Agni, the god of fire. The name is also found in ancient Hindu texts, including the Vedas and the Puranas, indicating its widespread use in ancient Indian society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pratham dates back to the 6th century BCE, when it was used by a renowned Indian philosopher and grammarian, Pratham Panini. Panini is credited with formulating the rules of Sanskrit grammar and is considered the father of linguistics in India.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Pratham. One such individual was Pratham Gupta, a ruler of the Gupta Empire in the 4th century CE, known for his patronage of arts and literature. Another was Pratham Suri, a Jain monk and scholar who lived in the 10th century CE and authored several influential works on Jainism.
In the realm of literature, Pratham Kalidas was a celebrated Sanskrit poet and dramatist who lived in the 4th-5th century CE. His works, such as the epic poem "Raghuvamsha" and the play "Abhijnanashakuntalam," are considered masterpieces of Indian literature.
More recently, Pratham was the name of a pioneering Indian educator and social activist, Pratham Masani, who lived from 1892 to 1988. He was instrumental in establishing several educational institutions and advocating for social reforms in India during the 20th century.
Another notable figure with the name Pratham was Pratham Chandra Bhattacharya, a renowned Indian physicist born in 1936. He made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics and was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, in 1986.
People
Pratham + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pratham 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
Pratham: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pratham?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 433 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pratham 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 791,580 US residents.
Is Pratham a common name?
We classify Pratham as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 437 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pratham most popular?
The single biggest year for Pratham was 2002, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pratham is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pratham in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 496 people with the name Pratham, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,722 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 Pratham 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 Pratham?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pratham appears almost entirely male. Of the 496 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Pratham?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pratham is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.6%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Pratham most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Pratham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.8% (485 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 Pratham in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pratham a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pratham 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 Pratham still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pratham 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 Pratham 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 Pratham?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Pratham at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.