Vimal
Spotless, immaculate, pure of Sanskrit origin.
Name Census estimates that about 93 living Americans carry the first name Vimal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vimal today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vimal births was 1987 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vimal. 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 Vimal with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Vimal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
93
~ 1 in 3,685,531 Americans
Peak year
1987
12 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1997 SSA rank
#10,752
Tracked since 1979
Census
Vimal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 907 people with the first name Vimal, which placed it at #13,353 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
#13,353
National first-name rank
People counted
907
907 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vimal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vimal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.8%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Vimal 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 Vimal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.9% · 870
- White1.8% · 16
- Two or more races0.9% · 8
- Black or African American0.7% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.1% · 1
Popularity
Vimal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vimal from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 62 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Vimal remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vimal 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 Vimal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vimal
The name Vimal has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the linguistic foundation for many modern South Asian languages. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "vimala," which translates to "pure," "spotless," or "immaculate." The name's roots can be traced back to the ancient Hindu scriptures, where it was often used to describe individuals of exceptional moral character or spiritual purity.
In the sacred Hindu texts, Vimal was sometimes used as an epithet for deities, particularly those associated with purity, wisdom, and enlightenment. One notable example is found in the Bhagavad Gita, where the name is mentioned in reference to Lord Krishna, revered as an avatar of the divine.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Vimal date back to the 6th century BCE, during the flourishing period of the Vedic civilization in the Indian subcontinent. Ancient inscriptions and historical records from this era provide evidence of individuals bearing the name Vimal, suggesting its enduring popularity and cultural significance.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Vimal. One prominent example is Vimal Suri, a Jain scholar and prolific writer who lived in the 6th century CE. His extensive literary works, including commentaries on Jain scriptures, have had a profound impact on the Jain tradition.
Another influential figure was Vimal Mitra, a renowned Buddhist scholar and translator who lived in the 8th century CE. He played a crucial role in the dissemination of Buddhist teachings and the translation of sacred texts from Sanskrit into Tibetan, facilitating the spread of Buddhism across the Himalayan regions.
In the realm of literature, Vimal Bhatt, a 16th-century Kashmiri poet, is celebrated for his poetic compositions in the Kashmiri language. His works, which often centered on themes of love and spirituality, have left an indelible mark on the literary heritage of the region.
The name Vimal has also been associated with figures in the modern era. Vimal Shah, an Indian businessman and philanthropist born in 1932, is known for his contributions to the field of education and social welfare initiatives in India.
Lastly, Vimal Nanavati, an Indian naval officer born in 1920, gained notoriety for his involvement in the infamous Nanavati case, a high-profile criminal trial that captivated the nation and sparked debates around the legal system and societal norms in India.
People
Vimal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vimal as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vimal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vimal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 93 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vimal 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 3,685,531 US residents.
Is Vimal a common name?
We classify Vimal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 97 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vimal most popular?
The single biggest year for Vimal was 1987, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vimal is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vimal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 907 people with the name Vimal, or 0.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,353 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 Vimal 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 Vimal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vimal leans strongly male. 808 people counted with this name were male (88.5%), compared with 105 female bearers (11.5%). 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 Vimal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vimal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.8%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Vimal most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Vimal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.9% (870 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 Vimal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vimal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vimal 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 Vimal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vimal 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 Vimal 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 called Vimal?
You can see how many people have the name Vimal on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.