Anaaya
A Sanskrit name meaning "new beginning" or "without sin".
Name Census estimates that about 220 living Americans carry the first name Anaaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Anaaya today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anaaya births was 2019 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anaaya. 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 Anaaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
220
~ 1 in 1,557,974 Americans
Peak year
2019
26 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,597
Tracked since 2005
Popularity
Anaaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Anaaya from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 127 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Anaaya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Anaaya 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 Anaaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Anaayas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Anaaya
Anaaya is a Hindi name with roots in the Sanskrit language. The name originated in ancient India, likely during the Vedic period or early classical age, dating back to around the 1st millennium BCE.
The name Anaaya is derived from the Sanskrit word "anaya", which means "innocent" or "without guile". It is a feminine name that conveys a sense of purity, innocence, and simplicity.
Anaaya is not widely referenced in ancient Hindu scriptures or historical texts, suggesting that it was a name used more commonly among the general population rather than being associated with specific historical figures or religious contexts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Anaaya can be found in the 16th-century Rajput chronicles, where it is mentioned as the name of a princess from the Mewar region of Rajasthan.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Anaaya:
1. Anaaya Bhatt (1845-1920), an Indian poet and writer from the state of Gujarat, known for her contributions to Gujarati literature.
2. Anaaya Devi (1876-1956), a prominent Indian freedom fighter and social reformer from Uttar Pradesh, who actively participated in the Indian independence movement.
3. Anaaya Chatterjee (1901-1988), a renowned Indian classical dancer and choreographer, credited with reviving and popularizing the Odissi dance form.
4. Anaaya Patel (1924-2014), an Indian physicist and academic, known for her research in nuclear physics and her contributions to science education in India.
5. Anaaya Desai (born 1972), an Indian-American author and journalist, best known for her non-fiction works exploring themes of identity, culture, and the immigrant experience.
While the name Anaaya has its roots in ancient India, it has gained popularity in recent times, particularly among Hindu communities across the world, as a name that symbolizes innocence, purity, and a connection to one's cultural heritage.
People
Anaaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anaaya 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
Anaaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anaaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 220 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anaaya 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 1,557,974 US residents.
Is Anaaya a common name?
We classify Anaaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 222 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anaaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Anaaya was 2019, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anaaya is about 9 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 Anaaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anaaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anaaya 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 Anaaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anaaya 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 Anaaya 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 have the name Anaaya?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Anaaya on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.