Abhinav
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "new" or "modern".
Name Census estimates that about 1,934 living Americans carry the first name Abhinav. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Abhinav today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Abhinav births was 2008 (133 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Abhinav. 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 Abhinav with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Abhinav is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 177,226 Americans
Peak year
2008
133 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,432
Tracked since 1990
Census
Abhinav in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,386 people with the first name Abhinav, which placed it at #5,158 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
#5,158
National first-name rank
People counted
3.4K
3,386 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abhinav
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abhinav is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Abhinav 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 Abhinav at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.5% · 3,266
- White2.1% · 70
- Two or more races0.5% · 18
- Black or African American0.4% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Popularity
Abhinav: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Abhinav from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 943 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
Abhinav 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 Abhinav during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Abhinavs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Abhinav, while Ohio, North Carolina, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 63 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Abhinav
The name Abhinav is of Sanskrit origin and has its roots in ancient Indian culture and tradition. It is a combination of two words - 'abhi' meaning 'towards' and 'nava' meaning 'new.' Collectively, the name Abhinav signifies 'towards the new' or 'welcoming the new.'
In Hindu mythology, the name Abhinav finds mention in the Puranas, a collection of ancient texts that narrate stories of deities, kings, and sages. The name is often associated with the concept of renewal, new beginnings, and embracing change. It is believed to bring good fortune and prosperity to the bearer.
The earliest recorded use of the name Abhinav can be traced back to the 7th century CE. One of the most notable figures in history to bear this name was Abhinav Gupta, a celebrated philosopher, and literary critic who lived in Kashmir between 950-1015 CE. His works, including the Abhinava Bharati, a commentary on the Natya Shastra, an ancient Indian treatise on performing arts, are considered seminal texts in Indian aesthetics and literary theory.
Another prominent figure named Abhinav was Abhinav Kashyap, a renowned playwright and poet who lived in the 11th century CE. His most famous work, the Rajtarangini, is a historical chronicle of the kings of Kashmir, providing valuable insights into the region's history and culture.
In more recent times, Abhinav Bindra, born in 1982, made history by becoming the first Indian to win an individual gold medal in the Olympic Games. His triumph in the 10m Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was a defining moment for Indian sports.
Abhinav Chandra, born in 1971, is a distinguished Indian filmmaker and screenwriter. He is known for his critically acclaimed films such as 'Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!,' 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,' and 'Batti Gul Meter Chalu,' which have explored diverse themes and garnered international recognition.
Abhinav Mukund, born in 1990, is an Indian cricketer who has represented the Indian national team in Test cricket. He made his debut in 2011 and has since played for various domestic teams, showcasing his batting prowess and contributing to the sport's rich legacy in India.
People
Abhinav + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Abhinav 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
Abhinav: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Abhinav?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,934 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Abhinav 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 177,226 US residents.
Is Abhinav a common name?
We classify Abhinav as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,955 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Abhinav most popular?
The single biggest year for Abhinav was 2008, when 133 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Abhinav is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Abhinav in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,386 people with the name Abhinav, or 1.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,158 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 Abhinav 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 Abhinav?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Abhinav appears almost entirely male. Of the 3,387 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Abhinav?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abhinav is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Abhinav most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Abhinav in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (3,266 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 Abhinav in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Abhinav a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Abhinav 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 Abhinav still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Abhinav 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 Abhinav 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 Abhinav?
See how many Americans are named Abhinav on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.