Samatha
A feminine name meaning "calm, tranquil" in Sanskrit.
Name Census estimates that about 3,960 living Americans carry the first name Samatha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Samatha today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Samatha births was 1989 (248 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Samatha. 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
4.0K
~ 1 in 86,554 Americans
Peak year
1989
248 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2018 SSA rank
#17,701
Tracked since 1964
Census
Samatha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,963 people with the first name Samatha, which placed it at #3,478 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
#3,478
National first-name rank
People counted
6.0K
5,963 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Samatha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samatha is White at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.2%) and Black (8.2%). 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 Samatha 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 Samatha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.5% · 3,668
- Hispanic or Latino20.2% · 1,205
- Black or African American8.2% · 486
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.2% · 311
- Two or more races3.0% · 181
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 112
Popularity
Samatha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Samatha from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 1,609 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Samatha 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 Samatha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Samathas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 33 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Samatha, while Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 64 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Samatha
The name Samatha is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest languages in the world and is closely tied to the ancient Indian culture and Hindu religion. The Sanskrit word "samatha" means "tranquility," "calmness," or "serenity," and it is often associated with the concept of achieving inner peace and mental stillness through meditation and spiritual practices.
In the Hindu tradition, Samatha is considered one of the two primary components of meditation, the other being Vipassana, which translates to "insight" or "clear seeing." Together, Samatha and Vipassana represent the balanced approach to spiritual development, where Samatha cultivates a state of calm concentration, while Vipassana develops wisdom and insight into the true nature of reality.
The name Samatha can be found in various ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Upanishads and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which are considered foundational works in the study of meditation and yoga. These texts often refer to Samatha as a key practice for attaining a state of mental equilibrium and preparing the mind for deeper spiritual exploration.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Samatha appears in the Pali Canon, a collection of Buddhist scriptures dating back to the 5th century BCE. In these texts, the term "samatha" is used to describe a state of concentrated calmness achieved through meditation practices.
Throughout history, several notable figures have been associated with the name Samatha or its variations. One such individual was Samatha Gautama, a renowned Buddhist teacher and philosopher who lived in the 6th century BCE and is often referred to as the "Father of Buddhism." He is credited with developing the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, which form the foundation of Buddhist teachings.
Another notable figure was Samatha Devi, a Hindu mystic and saint who lived in the 16th century CE. She was known for her profound spiritual insights and her teachings on the importance of cultivating inner peace and compassion.
In the realm of literature, Samatha Mukhopadhyay was a renowned Bengali author and poet who lived from 1826 to 1904. Her works explored themes of spirituality, women's rights, and social reform, and she is considered a pioneer of modern Bengali literature.
Samatha Rajan was an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who lived from 1923 to 2010. She was instrumental in reviving and promoting the ancient Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam, and her contributions helped preserve this cultural heritage for future generations.
Samatha Rajagopal was an Indian social activist and environmentalist who lived from 1937 to 2017. She was deeply committed to protecting the natural environment and advocated for sustainable development practices, earning her recognition as a leading figure in India's environmental movement.
People
Samatha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Samatha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Samatha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Samatha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,960 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Samatha 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 86,554 US residents.
Is Samatha a common name?
We classify Samatha as "Rare". It ranks above 96% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,202 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Samatha most popular?
The single biggest year for Samatha was 1989, when 248 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Samatha is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Samatha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,963 people with the name Samatha, or 1.97 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,478 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 Samatha 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 Samatha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Samatha appears almost entirely female. Of the 5,965 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Samatha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samatha is White at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.2%) and Black (8.2%). 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 Samatha most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Samatha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.5% (3,668 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 Samatha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Samatha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Samatha 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 Samatha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Samatha 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 Samatha 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 Samatha as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Samatha, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.