Akila
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "intelligent, wise one".
Name Census estimates that about 696 living Americans carry the first name Akila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Akila today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Akila births was 1997 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Akila. 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 Akila with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
696
~ 1 in 492,463 Americans
Peak year
1997
29 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,103
Tracked since 1974
Census
Akila in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,055 people with the first name Akila, which placed it at #11,962 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
#11,962
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,055 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
43.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Akila
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Akila is Black at 43.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (40.3%) and White (8.7%). 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 Akila 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 Akila at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American43.0% · 454
- Asian and Pacific Islander40.3% · 425
- White8.7% · 92
- Two or more races4.0% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 6
Popularity
Akila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Akila 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 179 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Akila remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Akila 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 Akila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Akilas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Florida, Georgia recorded the most babies named Akila, while New York, Illinois, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Akila
The name Akila is of Sanskrit origin, tracing its roots back to ancient India. It is derived from the word "akila," which means "whole," "complete," or "entire." This name was widely used in Hindu cultures and communities, particularly in the southern regions of India.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Akila can be found in ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, such as the Vedas and Puranas. It was often used as a reference to the divine or to describe the concept of wholeness and completeness in the spiritual realm.
In the realm of historical figures, Akila Dharma, a renowned Indian philosopher and scholar from the 6th century CE, is one notable individual who bore this name. He made significant contributions to the field of logic and epistemology, and his works, such as the "Akila Dharma Sastras," are still studied today.
Another prominent figure with the name Akila was Akila Tirthanatha, a revered Jain monk and scholar who lived in the 13th century CE. He was known for his devotion to the Jain faith and his influential writings on Jain philosophy and principles.
Moving forward in time, Akila Narayanan was a notable Indian freedom fighter and social reformer who played a pivotal role in the Indian independence movement during the early 20th century. She actively participated in various civil disobedience campaigns and worked tirelessly to promote women's education and empowerment.
In the field of arts and literature, Akila Seshasayee was a renowned Indian writer and poet from the 20th century. Her works, which often explored themes of love, nature, and spirituality, earned her widespread acclaim and numerous literary awards.
Lastly, Akila Radhakrishnan was a distinguished Indian classical dancer and choreographer who made significant contributions to the preservation and promotion of Bharatanatyam, one of the oldest classical dance forms in India. She was widely recognized for her graceful performances and her efforts in passing on her knowledge to future generations of dancers.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Akila throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich cultural tapestry of their times.
People
Akila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Akila 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
Akila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Akila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 696 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Akila 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 492,463 US residents.
Is Akila a common name?
We classify Akila as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 718 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Akila most popular?
The single biggest year for Akila was 1997, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Akila 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 Akila in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,055 people with the name Akila, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,962 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 Akila 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 Akila?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Akila leans strongly female. 973 people counted with this name were female (91.8%), compared with 87 male bearers (8.2%). 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 Akila?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Akila is Black at 43.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (40.3%) and White (8.7%). 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 Akila most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Akila in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.0% (454 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 Akila in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Akila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Akila 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 Akila still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Akila 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 Akila 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 people share the name Akila?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.