Uma
A feminine Hindu name derived from the Sanskrit word meaning "flax" or "splendor".
Name Census estimates that about 1,817 living Americans carry the first name Uma. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Uma today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Uma births was 2006 (81 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Uma. 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 Uma with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Uma is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 188,638 Americans
Peak year
2006
81 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,736
Tracked since 1961
Census
Uma in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,892 people with the first name Uma, which placed it at #3,977 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
#3,977
National first-name rank
People counted
4.9K
4,892 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
79.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Uma
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Uma is Asian/Pacific Islander at 79.0%. The next largest groups are White (8.7%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Uma 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 Uma at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander79.0% · 3,867
- White8.7% · 428
- Two or more races6.4% · 313
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 195
- Black or African American1.5% · 74
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 15
Popularity
Uma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Uma from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 681 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Uma remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Uma 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 Uma during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Umas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. California, New York, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Uma, while Virginia, New Mexico, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 67 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Uma
Uma is a Hindu feminine given name of Sanskrit origin. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Uma" which means "light" or "splendor". The name has been prominently used in Hindu mythology and religious texts.
Uma is one of the many names of the Hindu goddess Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva. According to Hindu scriptures, Uma was born as the daughter of Himavat, the personification of the Himalayas, and the reincarnation of Sati, Shiva's first wife. Her name is mentioned in several sacred texts, including the Puranas and the Mahabharata.
The name Uma has been recorded throughout Indian history, with some notable figures bearing this name. Queen Uma Devi (1554-1612) was a prominent ruler of the Gajapati Empire in present-day Odisha, India. She is known for her contributions to literature, art, and architecture during her reign.
Uma Bharati (born 1959) is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. She has been a Member of Parliament and has held several ministerial positions in the Indian government.
Uma Pemmaraju (1958-2017) was an Indian-American news anchor and journalist. She worked for various television networks, including Fox News and CNN, and was known for her coverage of major news events.
Uma Kunji Lal (1902-1944) was an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary who participated in the Indian independence movement against British rule. He was involved in the Kakori Train Robbery case and was later executed by the British authorities.
Uma Maheswara Ugra Narasimha (1825-1898), also known as Uma Maheshwara, was a renowned Telugu poet and scholar from the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. He made significant contributions to Telugu literature and is considered one of the greatest poets of the Telugu language.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Uma. The name continues to be popular among Hindus, particularly in India and other parts of South Asia, as it carries cultural and spiritual significance rooted in Hindu traditions and mythology.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Uma
People
Uma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Uma as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Uma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Uma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,817 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Uma 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 188,638 US residents.
Is Uma a common name?
We classify Uma as "Rare". It ranks above 93.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,845 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Uma most popular?
The single biggest year for Uma was 2006, when 81 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Uma 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 Uma in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,892 people with the name Uma, or 1.62 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,977 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 Uma 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 Uma?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Uma leans strongly female. 4,725 people counted with this name were female (96.6%), compared with 164 male bearers (3.4%). 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 Uma?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Uma is Asian/Pacific Islander at 79.0%. The next largest groups are White (8.7%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Uma most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Uma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.0% (3,867 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 Uma in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Uma a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Uma 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 Uma still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Uma 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 Uma 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 Uma?
Want to know how many people have the name Uma? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.