Ankita
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "one who is blessed".
Name Census estimates that about 508 living Americans carry the first name Ankita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ankita today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ankita births was 2000 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ankita. 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 Ankita with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
508
~ 1 in 674,713 Americans
Peak year
2000
35 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2019 SSA rank
#15,745
Tracked since 1986
Census
Ankita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,595 people with the first name Ankita, which placed it at #6,229 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
#6,229
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,595 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ankita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ankita is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.8%) and Black (0.5%). 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 Ankita 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 Ankita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.8% · 2,512
- White1.8% · 47
- Black or African American0.5% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 10
- Two or more races0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Popularity
Ankita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ankita from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 248 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Ankita remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ankita 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 Ankita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ankitas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New Jersey, New York recorded the most babies named Ankita, while New York, New Jersey, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ankita
Ankita is a Hindu given name that originated in Sanskrit, one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages dating back to the 2nd millennium BCE. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "anka," which means "embrace" or "mark," and is often associated with concepts of protection, affection, and identity.
The earliest known reference to the name Ankita can be traced back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, where it was occasionally mentioned as a name for female characters or deities. One such example is found in the Mahabharata, a Sanskrit epic that dates back to around the 8th century BCE, where a minor character named Ankita is mentioned.
In the centuries that followed, the name Ankita gained popularity across various regions of the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the northern and central parts of the country. It was commonly used by Hindus, but also found acceptance among other religious communities.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Ankita was Ankita Gupta, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 8th century CE. Her collection of poems, known as the "Ankitavali," is still studied and admired by scholars today.
Another notable figure was Ankita Sharma, a brave warrior and military leader who fought against the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. She is remembered for her heroic efforts in defending her kingdom and inspiring her troops with her courage and leadership.
In the realm of arts and literature, Ankita Devi was a renowned classical dancer and choreographer who lived in the 17th century. She is credited with popularizing the Kathak dance form and is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of Indian dance.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Ankita Bai was a prominent social reformer and educator who worked tirelessly to promote women's education and empowerment. She established several schools and organizations dedicated to improving the lives of women in her community.
More recently, Ankita Raina is a contemporary Indian professional tennis player who has represented India in various international tournaments and competitions. Born in 1993, she has achieved numerous accolades and has been a role model for aspiring young athletes in the country.
People
Ankita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ankita 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
Ankita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ankita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 508 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ankita 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 674,713 US residents.
Is Ankita a common name?
We classify Ankita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 518 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ankita most popular?
The single biggest year for Ankita was 2000, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ankita is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ankita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,595 people with the name Ankita, or 0.86 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,229 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 Ankita 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 Ankita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ankita appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,591 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 Ankita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ankita is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.8%) and Black (0.5%). 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 Ankita most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ankita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.8% (2,512 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 Ankita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ankita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ankita 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 Ankita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ankita 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 Ankita 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 Ankita?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.