Anup
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "unexcelled, incomparable, unsurpassed".
Name Census estimates that about 195 living Americans carry the first name Anup. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Anup today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anup births was 1982 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anup. 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
195
~ 1 in 1,757,715 Americans
Peak year
1982
13 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2017 SSA rank
#10,874
Tracked since 1973
Census
Anup in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,482 people with the first name Anup, which placed it at #9,384 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
#9,384
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,482 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anup
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anup is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Anup 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 Anup at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.6% · 1,432
- White1.3% · 20
- Black or African American1.0% · 15
- Two or more races0.6% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Anup: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Anup from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 95 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
Anup 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 Anup during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Anups live
Origin
Meaning and history of Anup
The name Anup has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that originated in the Indian subcontinent around the 2nd millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit words "anu" meaning "after" or "following," and "pa" meaning "to protect" or "to guard." Thus, the name Anup can be interpreted as "one who follows or guards."
In Hindu mythology, Anup is mentioned as the name of a sage or rishi who appears in the Puranas, a collection of ancient Sanskrit texts. Some sources also suggest that Anup was the name of a king or ruler in ancient India, though specific details are scarce.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Anup can be found in the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, dated between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE. In this epic, Anup is mentioned as the name of a warrior who fought alongside the Pandava brothers in the great Kurukshetra War.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Anup. One of the earliest was Anup Singh (1670-1743), a Rajput ruler of the Amber (later Jaipur) kingdom in present-day Rajasthan, India. He is known for his architectural contributions, including the construction of the Amber Fort and the City Palace in Jaipur.
Another prominent figure was Anup Jalota (born 1953), an Indian classical vocalist and musician who has received numerous awards and accolades for his contributions to Hindustani classical music. He is particularly renowned for his performances of khyal, a genre of Hindustani vocal music.
In the field of literature, Anup Saxena (born 1949) is a renowned Indian poet and author who has published several collections of poetry and prose. His works often explore themes of social injustice, human relationships, and the complexities of modern life.
Anup Bhandari (born 1983) is a Nepalese mountain climber and guide who has successfully summited Mount Everest multiple times. He is known for his expertise in high-altitude mountaineering and his efforts in promoting sustainable tourism in the Himalayan region.
Anup Soni (born 1975) is an Indian actor and television presenter who has appeared in numerous popular TV shows and films. He is particularly acclaimed for his comedic roles and his ability to portray diverse characters with ease.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Anup throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage.
People
Anup + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anup 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
Anup: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anup?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 195 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anup 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 1,757,715 US residents.
Is Anup a common name?
We classify Anup as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 203 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anup most popular?
The single biggest year for Anup was 1982, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anup is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Anup in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,482 people with the name Anup, or 0.49 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,384 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 Anup 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 Anup?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Anup leans strongly male. 1,460 people counted with this name were male (98.1%), compared with 28 female bearers (1.9%). 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 Anup?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Anup is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Anup most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Anup in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.6% (1,432 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 Anup in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anup a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anup 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 Anup still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anup 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 Anup 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 Anup?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.