Akshay
An Indian name meaning eternal, imperishable, or never diminishing.
Name Census estimates that about 1,767 living Americans carry the first name Akshay. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Akshay today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Akshay births was 2008 (89 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Akshay. 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 Akshay with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 193,975 Americans
Peak year
2008
89 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,557
Tracked since 1981
Census
Akshay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,045 people with the first name Akshay, which placed it at #4,552 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
#4,552
National first-name rank
People counted
4.0K
4,045 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
94.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Akshay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Akshay is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.4%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Akshay 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 Akshay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.8% · 3,833
- White2.4% · 97
- Two or more races1.5% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 26
- Black or African American0.5% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 9
Popularity
Akshay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Akshay from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 736 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
Akshay 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 Akshay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Akshays live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Texas recorded the most babies named Akshay, while Ohio, Michigan, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 77 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Akshay
The name Akshay has its roots in Sanskrit, an ancient language of the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the word "akshaya," which means "imperishable," "eternal," or "never-diminishing." The name is believed to have originated in the Hindu tradition, where it holds spiritual significance.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Akshay can be found in ancient Hindu scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Puranas. It was often associated with deities and revered figures, symbolizing their everlasting nature and divine qualities.
In Hindu mythology, Akshay is also one of the names attributed to Lord Vishnu, the preserver and protector of the universe. This association further reinforces the name's connection with eternity and the concept of preserving life and order.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Akshay. One of the earliest recorded examples is Akshay Brahman, a renowned Indian philosopher and scholar from the 6th century CE. He made significant contributions to the fields of logic, epistemology, and philosophy of language.
Another prominent figure with the name Akshay was Akshay Kumar Datta (1820-1886), a Bengali writer, and social reformer. He played a crucial role in the Bengal Renaissance and advocated for women's education and the abolition of social evils like child marriage.
In the realm of literature, Akshay Moitra (1888-1956) was a distinguished Bengali novelist and short story writer. His works explored themes of social injustice, poverty, and the human condition, earning him critical acclaim.
Moving forward in time, Akshay Kumar (born 1967) is a prominent Indian actor and producer who has starred in numerous Bollywood films. His successful career in the entertainment industry has made him a household name in India and abroad.
Another notable individual with the name Akshay is Akshay Venkatesh (born 1981), an Australian mathematician of Indian descent. In 2018, he was awarded the prestigious Fields Medal, often regarded as the highest honor in mathematics, for his groundbreaking contributions to the field.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Akshay, highlighting its enduring presence across various fields and cultures.
People
Akshay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Akshay 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
Akshay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Akshay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,767 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Akshay 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 193,975 US residents.
Is Akshay a common name?
We classify Akshay as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,793 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Akshay most popular?
The single biggest year for Akshay was 2008, when 89 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Akshay is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Akshay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,045 people with the name Akshay, or 1.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,552 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 Akshay 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 Akshay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Akshay appears almost entirely male. Of the 4,051 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Akshay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Akshay is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.4%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Akshay most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Akshay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (3,833 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 Akshay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Akshay a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Akshay 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 Akshay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Akshay 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 Akshay 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 are named Akshay?
Want to know how many people have the name Akshay? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.