Vir
A masculine Indian name meaning brave, courageous, or hero.
Name Census estimates that about 421 living Americans carry the first name Vir. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vir today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vir births was 2022 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vir. 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 Vir with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
421
~ 1 in 814,143 Americans
Peak year
2022
33 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,031
Tracked since 2002
Census
Vir in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 406 people with the first name Vir, which placed it at #23,937 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
#23,937
National first-name rank
People counted
406
406 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
86.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vir
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vir is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.7%. The next largest groups are White (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Vir 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 Vir at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander86.7% · 352
- White4.9% · 20
- Two or more races3.7% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 12
- Black or African American1.2% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Vir: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vir from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 198 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Vir remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vir 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 Vir during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Virs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Vir, while New Jersey, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vir
The name Vir has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language of South Asia. Vir is derived from the Sanskrit word 'vira,' which means 'brave' or 'heroic.' This name was prevalent in ancient India and has been a part of Indian culture for centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vir can be found in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, which dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In the epic, Vir is mentioned as a name of a warrior or a brave soldier. The name was also associated with the Hindu god Vishnu, who is often depicted as a protector and a warrior.
During the medieval period, the name Vir was commonly used among the Rajput clans of India, who were known for their bravery and valor in battle. Many Rajput rulers and warriors bore the name Vir, and it became a symbol of courage and strength.
In the 16th century, a Rajput ruler named Vir Singh Deo ruled over the princely state of Bundela in central India. He was known for his bravery and military conquests, and his name became synonymous with valor and heroism.
Another notable historical figure with the name Vir was Vir Kunwar Singh, a leader of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British East India Company. He was a skilled warrior and led his forces with great courage and determination.
In more recent times, Vir Savarkar, an Indian independence activist, philosopher, and writer, was born in 1883. He played a pivotal role in the Indian independence movement and was a staunch advocate for Hindu nationalism.
Vir Chakra is also the name of India's third-highest military decoration, awarded for acts of gallantry in the presence of the enemy. The name Vir Chakra itself means "Vir's Wheel" or "Wheel of Valor," further emphasizing the association of the name with bravery and heroism.
Overall, the name Vir has a rich historical significance in Indian culture, representing courage, valor, and heroism. Its roots can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit texts, and it has been borne by many notable warriors, rulers, and freedom fighters throughout history.
People
Vir + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vir 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
Vir: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vir?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 421 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vir 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 814,143 US residents.
Is Vir a common name?
We classify Vir as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 424 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vir most popular?
The single biggest year for Vir was 2022, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vir is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vir in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 406 people with the name Vir, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,937 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 Vir 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 Vir?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vir leans strongly male. 381 people counted with this name were male (94.3%), compared with 23 female bearers (5.7%). 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 Vir?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vir is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.7%. The next largest groups are White (4.9%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Vir most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Vir in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.7% (352 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 Vir in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vir a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vir 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 Vir still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vir 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 Vir 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 Americans are named Vir?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Vir at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.