Anahit
An Armenian name derived from the name of an ancient Armenian goddess.
Name Census estimates that about 372 living Americans carry the first name Anahit. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Anahit today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anahit births was 2004 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anahit. 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
372
~ 1 in 921,383 Americans
Peak year
2004
23 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,598
Tracked since 1988
Census
Anahit in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,913 people with the first name Anahit, which placed it at #7,798 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
#7,798
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,913 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
95.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anahit
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anahit is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Anahit 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 Anahit at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.9% · 1,835
- Two or more races1.7% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 11
- Black or African American0.2% · 3
Popularity
Anahit: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Anahit 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 138 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Anahit remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Anahit 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 Anahit during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Anahits live
Origin
Meaning and history of Anahit
The name Anahit has its origins in ancient Armenia, tracing back to the pre-Christian era. It derives from the name of the Armenian goddess Anahit, who was the goddess of fertility, healing, wisdom, and holy wars. Anahit was one of the most revered deities in the Armenian pantheon, with temples dedicated to her worship in various parts of the ancient kingdom.
The earliest recorded mentions of the name Anahit date back to the 5th century BC, appearing in inscriptions and historical records from the reign of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The name was particularly popular among the Armenian nobility and royalty, who often named their daughters after the beloved goddess.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Anahit was Anahit Hunanyan (1906-1992), an Armenian actress and theater director. She was a prominent figure in the Armenian cultural scene and played a significant role in the development of modern Armenian theater.
Another famous Anahit was Anahit Tsarukyan (1921-2012), an Armenian writer and translator. Her works, which included novels, short stories, and translations, made a significant contribution to Armenian literature and helped preserve the country's cultural heritage.
In the realm of Armenian mythology, Anahit is often depicted as a beautiful and powerful goddess, sometimes portrayed with a crown adorned with pomegranates, a symbol of fertility. Her cult was widespread throughout ancient Armenia, and her worship continued even after the adoption of Christianity in the 4th century AD.
Anahit Babayan (1924-2018) was an acclaimed Armenian sculptor who created numerous monumental works that adorned public spaces in Armenia and other parts of the former Soviet Union. Her sculptures often celebrated the themes of motherhood, strength, and resilience, reflecting the spirit of the Armenian people.
Another notable figure was Anahit Missakian (1924-2018), an Armenian writer and activist. She was a prominent voice in the Armenian diaspora, advocating for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and promoting Armenian culture and literature around the world.
Throughout history, the name Anahit has carried a deep cultural significance for Armenians, representing their connection to their ancient heritage and the enduring spirit of their nation. While its usage may have ebbed and flowed over the centuries, the name remains a cherished part of Armenian tradition and identity.
People
Anahit + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anahit 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
Anahit: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anahit?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 372 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anahit 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 921,383 US residents.
Is Anahit a common name?
We classify Anahit as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 378 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anahit most popular?
The single biggest year for Anahit was 2004, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anahit is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Anahit in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,913 people with the name Anahit, or 0.63 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,798 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 Anahit 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 Anahit?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Anahit appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,911 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Anahit?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anahit is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Anahit most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Anahit in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.9% (1,835 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 Anahit in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anahit a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anahit 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 Anahit still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anahit 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 Anahit 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 have Anahit as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Anahit, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.