Anaika
A unique feminine name with no definitive origin or meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 249 living Americans carry the first name Anaika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Anaika today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anaika births was 2019 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anaika. 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 Anaika with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
249
~ 1 in 1,376,523 Americans
Peak year
2019
23 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,163
Tracked since 2001
Census
Anaika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 251 people with the first name Anaika, which placed it at #33,109 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
#33,109
National first-name rank
People counted
251
251 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
39.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anaika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anaika is Asian/Pacific Islander at 39.4%. The next largest groups are Black (31.9%) and Hispanic (19.9%). 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 Anaika 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 Anaika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander39.4% · 99
- Black or African American31.9% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino19.9% · 50
- White5.2% · 13
- Two or more races3.2% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Anaika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Anaika 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 131 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Anaika remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Anaika 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 Anaika during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Anaikas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Anaika
The name Anaika has its origins in the Sanskrit language, an ancient Indo-Aryan tongue that has been a major linguistic source for many modern Indian languages. The name is believed to have emerged in the Indian subcontinent during the medieval period, roughly between the 6th and 13th centuries CE.
Anaika is derived from the Sanskrit word "anaika," which means "many" or "numerous." This connection suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals who were blessed with an abundance of positive qualities or who were perceived as possessing a multitude of virtues.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Anaika can be found in the intricate carvings adorning the walls of the ancient Elephanta Caves, a renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site located near Mumbai, India. These ancient rock-cut cave temples, dating back to the 6th-7th centuries CE, feature exquisite sculptures depicting scenes from Hindu mythology, and the name Anaika is etched alongside other Sanskrit inscriptions.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Anaika. In the 12th century, Anaika Devi was a celebrated poet and scholar from the northern Indian region of Kashmir. Her poetic works, written in Sanskrit, were widely acclaimed for their eloquence and profound insights.
During the 16th century, Anaika Kumari was a prominent figure in the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. She was renowned for her exceptional skills in music, dance, and literature, and her contributions to the cultural renaissance of the Mughal era were widely recognized.
In the realm of spiritual leadership, Anaika Amma (1875-1956) was a revered Hindu mystic and saint from the southern Indian state of Kerala. Her teachings and wisdom inspired countless followers, and she is remembered for her compassion and dedication to serving the underprivileged.
More recently, Anaika Soti (1920-2003) was a celebrated Indian classical dancer and choreographer. Her innovative interpretations of traditional dance forms, such as Kathak and Bharatanatyam, earned her widespread acclaim and numerous accolades, including the prestigious Padma Shri award bestowed by the Indian government.
Another notable figure was Anaika Rajah (1932-2018), a pioneering journalist and human rights activist from Malaysia. She played a pivotal role in advocating for freedom of expression and social justice, and her relentless efforts to uncover corruption and injustice earned her both admiration and criticism.
People
Anaika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anaika 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
Anaika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anaika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 249 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anaika 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 1,376,523 US residents.
Is Anaika a common name?
We classify Anaika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 251 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anaika most popular?
The single biggest year for Anaika was 2019, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anaika is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Anaika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 251 people with the name Anaika, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,109 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 Anaika 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 Anaika?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Anaika leans strongly female. 246 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.2%). 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 Anaika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anaika is Asian/Pacific Islander at 39.4%. The next largest groups are Black (31.9%) and Hispanic (19.9%). 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 Anaika most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Anaika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.4% (99 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 Anaika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anaika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anaika 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 Anaika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anaika 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 Anaika 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 common is the name Anaika?
See how many people have the name Anaika on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.