Agni
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "fire" or "the fire god".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Agni. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Agni today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Agni births was 2020 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Agni. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Agni. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2020
5 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2020 SSA rank
#12,072
Tracked since 2020
Popularity
Agni: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Agni 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 Agni during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Agni
The name Agni has its origins in ancient Hindu mythology and Sanskrit language, dating back to the Vedic period of ancient India, around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "agni," which means "fire" or "the god of fire." The name is closely associated with Agni, the Vedic god of fire, who was one of the most important deities in Hindu mythology.
In the Rigveda, one of the oldest and most sacred Hindu scriptures, Agni is celebrated as the messenger of the gods, the embodiment of sacrificial fire, and the mediator between the divine and mortal realms. The Vedic hymns praise Agni as the purifier, the giver of life, and the bearer of offerings to the gods. The name Agni is deeply rooted in these ancient Vedic traditions and beliefs.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Agni can be found in various ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Upanishads and the Puranas. One of the most famous individuals with the name Agni in Hindu mythology is Agni Purana, a sage who is believed to have composed the Agni Purana, a significant Hindu scripture that deals with a wide range of topics, including cosmology, philosophy, and rituals.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Agni. One such person was Agni Vamsha, a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in the 8th century CE. He was known for his contributions to the study of Vedanta philosophy and his commentaries on various Hindu scriptures.
Another famous individual with the name Agni was Agni Kunchithapatham, a Tamil scholar and poet who lived in the 17th century CE. He was renowned for his works in Tamil literature and his devotional compositions dedicated to the Hindu deities.
In more recent times, Agni Pravaha Baruah was an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer who lived in the early 20th century. He played a significant role in the Indian independence movement and worked towards uplifting the underprivileged communities in Assam, India.
Agni Yoga, also known as the Living Ethics, is a spiritual teaching that emerged in the early 20th century. It was founded by Helena Roerich and her husband, Nicholas Roerich, and the name "Agni Yoga" is derived from the Sanskrit word "Agni," signifying the spiritual fire or energy that guides the evolution of consciousness.
People
Agni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Agni 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
Agni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Agni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Agni 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Agni a common name?
We classify Agni as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Agni most popular?
The single biggest year for Agni was 2020, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Agni is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Agni in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Agni a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Agni 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 Agni still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Agni 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 Agni 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Agni?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Agni at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.