Priya
A Sanskrit feminine name meaning beloved, dear, or darling.
Name Census estimates that about 6,301 living Americans carry the first name Priya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Priya today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Priya births was 2014 (211 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Priya. 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 Priya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
6.3K
~ 1 in 54,397 Americans
Peak year
2014
211 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,857
Tracked since 1969
Census
Priya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 11,070 people with the first name Priya, which placed it at #2,317 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
#2,317
National first-name rank
People counted
11K
11,070 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
76.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Priya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Priya is Asian/Pacific Islander at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and White (6.6%). 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 Priya 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 Priya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander76.7% · 8,490
- Two or more races9.2% · 1,015
- White6.6% · 726
- Black or African American4.2% · 466
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 317
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 56
Popularity
Priya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Priya from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,745 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Priya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Priya 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 Priya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Priyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. California, New York, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Priya, while Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 151 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Priya
Priya is a given name that has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language from the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "priya," which means "beloved" or "dear." It is a feminine name that has been popular in various parts of India and among people of Indian descent for centuries.
The name Priya has been mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, such as the Upanishads and the Vedas. It is also found in various Hindu mythological stories and epics, where it is often associated with goddesses or female characters who are revered for their beauty, grace, and virtue.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Priya can be found in the Mahabharata, which is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. In this epic, Priya is the name of a princess who is described as being exceptionally beautiful and virtuous.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Priya. One of the most famous was Priya Darshini (1638-1701), who was a prominent poet and scholar during the Mughal era in India. She was known for her mastery of various languages, including Sanskrit, Persian, and Arabic, and her works explored themes of love, spirituality, and philosophy.
Another notable figure was Priya Nath Sarbadhikari (1869-1949), who was an Indian philosopher, educationist, and social reformer. He founded the Sarbadhikari Trust, which aimed to promote education and social welfare initiatives in Bengal.
In more recent times, Priya Dutt (born 1966) is an Indian politician and social worker who has served as a member of the Indian Parliament. She is known for her work in promoting women's rights and empowerment.
Priya Rajan (born 1978) is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who has received numerous awards and accolades for her contributions to the field of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form.
Priya Bapat (born 1986) is an Indian actress who has appeared in various Marathi and Hindi films and television shows. She is known for her versatile performances and has won several awards for her acting.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Priya throughout history, showcasing the rich cultural significance and popularity of this beautiful name.
People
Priya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Priya 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
Priya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Priya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,301 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Priya 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 54,397 US residents.
Is Priya a common name?
We classify Priya as "Rare". It ranks above 97% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,461 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Priya most popular?
The single biggest year for Priya was 2014, when 211 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Priya is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Priya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 11,070 people with the name Priya, or 3.67 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,317 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 Priya 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 Priya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Priya appears almost entirely female. Of the 11,068 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Priya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Priya is Asian/Pacific Islander at 76.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.2%) and White (6.6%). 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 Priya most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Priya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.7% (8,490 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 Priya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Priya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Priya 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 Priya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Priya 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 Priya 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 Priya?
Find out how many Americans are named Priya on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.