Akilesh
A Hindu masculine name meaning "priceless, unadulterated or something very precious".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Akilesh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Akilesh today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Akilesh births was 2008 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Akilesh. 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 Akilesh. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2008
5 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2008 SSA rank
#12,606
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Akilesh: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Akilesh 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 Akilesh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Akilesh
The name Akilesh has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is a compound name derived from the Sanskrit words "Akila" meaning entire or whole, and "Isha" meaning lord or ruler. The name can be traced back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, where it was used to refer to a divine or spiritual entity.
In the Puranas, a vast collection of Hindu mythological stories and narratives, there are references to Akilesh as a name or epithet for the supreme deity Vishnu. The name is associated with the concept of the all-pervading, all-encompassing nature of the divine.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Akilesh can be found in inscriptions and historical records from the medieval period in India. One notable figure was Akilesh Varma, a 12th-century ruler of the Kalachuri dynasty in central India. He is known for his patronage of art, architecture, and literature during his reign.
Another historical figure bearing the name Akilesh was Akilesh Mishra, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and grammarian who lived in the 16th century. He authored several influential works on Sanskrit grammar and literature, which are still studied and revered today.
In the realm of literature, Akilesh Tripathi was a prominent Hindi poet and writer of the 20th century. Born in 1908, he is considered one of the pioneers of the Chhayavaad literary movement in Hindi literature. His poetry collections, such as "Pallav" and "Amrit Lahari," are widely acclaimed and have left a lasting impact on Hindi poetry.
In the field of music, Akilesh Chakravarty was a renowned Indian classical vocalist and composer from the 20th century. Born in 1916, he was a master of the Khyal style of Hindustani classical music and is credited with numerous compositions and contributions to the preservation and promotion of Indian classical music.
Akilesh Rai, born in 1940, is a distinguished Indian writer and playwright. He has written numerous plays, short stories, and novels in Hindi and has received several prestigious literary awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honors.
While the name Akilesh is primarily associated with the Indian subcontinent and Hindu culture, its meaning and significance as a name reflecting divinity, spiritual wholeness, and leadership have made it a respected and admired name across various regions and communities.
People
Akilesh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Akilesh 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
Akilesh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Akilesh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Akilesh 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 Akilesh a common name?
We classify Akilesh 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 Akilesh most popular?
The single biggest year for Akilesh was 2008, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Akilesh is about 18 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 Akilesh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Akilesh a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Akilesh 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 Akilesh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Akilesh 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 Akilesh 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 many people share the name Akilesh?
You can see how many people have the name Akilesh on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.