Aarthi
A Hindu feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "sacred fire" or "prosperity".
Name Census estimates that about 102 living Americans carry the first name Aarthi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aarthi today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aarthi births was 2003 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aarthi. 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 Aarthi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
102
~ 1 in 3,360,337 Americans
Peak year
2003
10 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2011 SSA rank
#13,352
Tracked since 1985
Census
Aarthi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 652 people with the first name Aarthi, which placed it at #17,077 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
#17,077
National first-name rank
People counted
652
652 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aarthi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aarthi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Two or More Races (0.6%). 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 Aarthi 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 Aarthi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.7% · 637
- White1.2% · 8
- Two or more races0.6% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Aarthi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aarthi from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 52 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
Aarthi 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 Aarthi 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 Aarthi
The name Aarthi originates from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Arati," which means "the waving of lighted lamps or camphor before an idol or venerated person." The name Aarthi is often associated with Hindu religious rituals and worship.
In Hinduism, the Aarti ceremony is a central part of daily worship, where lighted lamps or camphor are waved in a circular motion in front of deities or revered figures. This ritual is performed to honor the divine and seek blessings. The name Aarthi is closely linked to this sacred tradition and holds significant spiritual symbolism.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Aarthi can be traced back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, where it is mentioned in the context of religious ceremonies and rituals. However, it is not commonly found as a personal name in historical records until more recent centuries.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Aarthi was Aarthi Sampathkumaran, an Indian singer and musician from the 20th century. She was born in 1940 and is renowned for her contributions to Carnatic music, a classical music tradition of South India. Her performances and recordings played a significant role in preserving and promoting this art form.
Another prominent individual named Aarthi was Aarthi Agarwal, an Indian-American filmmaker and activist who was born in 1964. She is known for her documentary work on environmental and social issues, particularly her film "Forks Over Knives," which explores the benefits of a whole-food, plant-based diet.
In the field of literature, Aarthi Deori is a renowned Indian poet and writer who was born in 1974. She has published several collections of poetry and has been recognized with various literary awards for her poetic works that explore themes of identity, culture, and the human experience.
Aarthi Arun, born in 1983, is an Indian actress and model who has appeared in numerous Tamil and Telugu films. She is known for her versatile performances and has gained recognition for her roles in popular movies.
Aarthi Mukherjee, born in 1987, is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She is renowned for her expertise in the Odissi dance form, which originated in the Indian state of Odisha. Mukherjee has performed in various national and international forums, showcasing the richness of this ancient dance tradition.
People
Aarthi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aarthi as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Aarthi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aarthi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 102 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aarthi 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 3,360,337 US residents.
Is Aarthi a common name?
We classify Aarthi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 104 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aarthi most popular?
The single biggest year for Aarthi was 2003, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aarthi is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aarthi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 652 people with the name Aarthi, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,077 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 Aarthi 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 Aarthi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aarthi appears almost entirely female. Of the 655 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Aarthi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aarthi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Two or More Races (0.6%). 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 Aarthi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Aarthi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.7% (637 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 Aarthi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aarthi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aarthi 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 Aarthi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aarthi 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 Aarthi 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 Aarthi?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Aarthi at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.