Shreya
A Sanskrit name meaning "distinguished, prosperous, virtuous".
Name Census estimates that about 4,905 living Americans carry the first name Shreya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shreya today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shreya births was 2003 (314 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shreya. 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 Shreya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.9K
~ 1 in 69,879 Americans
Peak year
2003
314 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,545
Tracked since 1980
Census
Shreya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,358 people with the first name Shreya, which placed it at #3,334 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
#3,334
National first-name rank
People counted
6.4K
6,358 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
94.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shreya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shreya is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.0%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Shreya 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 Shreya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.0% · 5,975
- White2.7% · 174
- Two or more races1.4% · 87
- Black or African American0.8% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 27
Popularity
Shreya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shreya from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 2,380 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
Shreya 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 Shreya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shreyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Texas recorded the most babies named Shreya, while Wisconsin, Tennessee, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 158 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shreya
The name Shreya has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the root of many modern Indian languages. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "shreyas," which means "auspicious" or "prosperous." The name first gained popularity in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in regions where Sanskrit and its derived languages were widely spoken.
Shreya can be traced back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, where it was sometimes used as a name or a reference to auspicious or fortunate events. In the Vedas, which are among the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism, the word "shreyas" appears in various contexts, often signifying the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment or the attainment of higher knowledge.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shreya can be found in the Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic that dates back to around the 8th or 9th century BCE. In this epic, Shreya is mentioned as the name of a character, although her significance is relatively minor.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shreya. One of the most famous was Shreya Ghoshal, an Indian playback singer who was born in 1984. Known for her melodious voice and versatility, she has lent her vocals to numerous Bollywood films and has won multiple awards for her contributions to Indian cinema.
Another prominent figure named Shreya was Shreya Singhal, an Indian student and activist who was born in 1986. She played a pivotal role in the landmark Supreme Court case that struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, a controversial law that criminalized certain online speech. Singhal's advocacy for free speech and digital rights earned her widespread recognition and praise.
In the realm of literature, Shreya Devi (1904-1981) was a renowned Bengali novelist and short story writer. Her works often explored themes of social injustice, gender inequality, and the complexities of human relationships. She was widely acclaimed for her literary contributions and received numerous accolades, including the Rabindra Puraskar, one of the highest literary honors in West Bengal.
Shreya Ghoshal (born 1963), an Indian classical dancer and choreographer, has also made a significant impact in the field of performing arts. Known for her expertise in Kathak, one of the major classical dance forms of India, she has performed extensively both nationally and internationally, and has been recognized with several prestigious awards.
In the field of sports, Shreya Hosali (born 1990) is an Indian cricketer who has represented her country in various international tournaments. She has been a part of the Indian women's cricket team and has played a crucial role in several victories, contributing with both her batting and fielding skills.
People
Shreya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shreya 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
Shreya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shreya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,905 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shreya 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 69,879 US residents.
Is Shreya a common name?
We classify Shreya as "Rare". It ranks above 96.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,975 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shreya most popular?
The single biggest year for Shreya was 2003, when 314 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shreya is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shreya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,358 people with the name Shreya, or 2.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,334 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 Shreya 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 Shreya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shreya appears almost entirely female. Of the 6,358 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Shreya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shreya is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.0%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Shreya most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shreya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (5,975 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 Shreya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shreya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shreya 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 Shreya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shreya 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 Shreya 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 Shreya?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.