Akela
Female leader of the wolf pack in Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book".
Name Census estimates that about 632 living Americans carry the first name Akela. It is a predominantly female name (94.2% of registrations). The average person named Akela today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Akela births was 1996 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Akela. 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.
People living today
632
~ 1 in 542,333 Americans
Peak year
1996
27 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,899
Tracked since 1975
Gender
Gender distribution for Akela
Akela leans heavily female at 94.2% of total registrations, but 38 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Akela as a male name
- Ranked #9,899 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (8 births)
Akela as a female name
- Ranked #13,518 in 2023
- 6 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1996 (27 births)
Popularity
Akela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Akela from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 197 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Akela 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 Akela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Akelas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Akela
The name Akela has its origins in the Hindi language and is derived from the Sanskrit word 'akella', meaning 'solitary' or 'alone'. The name is closely associated with Rudyard Kipling's famous novel 'The Jungle Book', published in 1894, where Akela is the name of the wise leader of the wolf pack that adopts the human child Mowgli.
In Hindu mythology, Akela is also the name of a demon or rakshasa who is mentioned in the epic Ramayana. According to the text, Akela was a fierce and powerful demon who was eventually defeated by the divine prince Rama and his army of monkeys and bears.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Akela can be found in the 17th century Marathi text 'Shri Ramdas Swami Charitra', where it is used as a masculine name. However, the name gained widespread popularity and recognition after the publication of Kipling's 'The Jungle Book'.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Akela. One of the most famous was Akela Arjun Singh (1921-2011), an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Another notable figure was Akela Raman Nair (1904-1988), an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement.
In the world of sports, Akela Jones (born 1995) is an American heptathlete who has represented the United States in various international competitions, including the Olympic Games. Akela Cooper (born 1986) is an American actress and writer, known for her roles in television shows such as 'Grimm' and 'The Blacklist'.
Lastly, Akela Tuzikaya (born 1969) is a Native American artist and activist from the Shawnee and Lakota tribes, known for her work in promoting indigenous rights and cultural preservation.
People
Akela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Akela 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
Akela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Akela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 632 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Akela 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 542,333 US residents.
Is Akela a common name?
We classify Akela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 651 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Akela most popular?
The single biggest year for Akela was 1996, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Akela is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Akela a female name?
Yes, 94.2% of people registered as Akela 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.
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.