Anil
An Indian masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "deep blue" or "indestructible".
Name Census estimates that about 1,103 living Americans carry the first name Anil. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Anil today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anil births was 1989 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anil. 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 Anil with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 310,747 Americans
Peak year
1989
46 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,938
Tracked since 1959
Census
Anil in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,489 people with the first name Anil, which placed it at #2,991 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
#2,991
National first-name rank
People counted
7.5K
7,489 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
89.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anil
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anil is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Anil 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 Anil at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander89.1% · 6,669
- White4.3% · 321
- Two or more races2.8% · 208
- Black or African American2.4% · 176
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 81
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 34
Popularity
Anil: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Anil from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 334 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Anil 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 Anil during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Anils live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Anil, while Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 54 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Anil
Anil is a masculine given name that originated in India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "anila," which means "air" or "wind." The name has been in use since ancient times and is mentioned in various Hindu scriptures and texts.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Anil can be found in the Rigveda, one of the oldest Hindu scriptures dating back to around 1500-1000 BCE. In the Rigveda, Anil is mentioned as one of the names of the wind god, Vayu.
In Hindu mythology, Anil is also the name of one of the nine Navagrahās (celestial beings) and is associated with the planet Mars. The name is believed to bring strength, courage, and leadership qualities to those who bear it.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have been named Anil. One of the earliest recorded examples is Anil Bhatta, an Indian mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 8th century CE. He made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and wrote several treatises on the subject.
Another famous Anil in history was Anil Kumble, an Indian cricketer who played for the Indian national team from 1990 to 2008. He was a skilled leg-spinner and is considered one of the greatest bowlers in Indian cricket history. Anil Kumble was born in 1970 and retired from international cricket in 2008.
Anil Ambani, an Indian business tycoon and the chairman of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, is another prominent individual with the name Anil. He was born in 1959 and has been involved in various business ventures, including telecommunications, entertainment, and financial services.
In the field of literature, Anil Kamal Jaynawas was a renowned Hindi novelist and short story writer. He was born in 1925 and is known for his works that explored social issues and the lives of ordinary people in India.
Lastly, Anil Kapoor is a highly acclaimed Indian actor who has appeared in numerous Bollywood films and television shows. He was born in 1959 and is best known for his roles in films like "Mr. India," "Taal," and "Slumdog Millionaire," for which he received international recognition.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals named Anil throughout history, showcasing the rich cultural heritage and significance of this name in various fields.
People
Anil + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anil 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
Anil: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anil?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,103 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anil 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 310,747 US residents.
Is Anil a common name?
We classify Anil as "Rare". It ranks above 90.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,160 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anil most popular?
The single biggest year for Anil was 1989, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anil is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Anil in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,489 people with the name Anil, or 2.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,991 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 Anil 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 Anil?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Anil appears almost entirely male. Of the 7,485 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Anil?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anil is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Anil most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Anil in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (6,669 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 Anil in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anil a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anil 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 Anil still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anil 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 Anil 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 Americans are named Anil?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.