Aparna
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "priceless" or "unblemished".
Name Census estimates that about 497 living Americans carry the first name Aparna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aparna today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aparna births was 2004 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aparna. 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
497
~ 1 in 689,647 Americans
Peak year
2004
27 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2021 SSA rank
#15,499
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Aparna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aparna from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 172 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aparna 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 Aparna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aparnas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Aparna
The name Aparna derives from the Sanskrit language and has its roots in ancient India. It is a feminine given name that means "leaf" or "petal" in Sanskrit. The name is believed to have originated during the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 600 BCE, and is associated with Hindu mythology and culture.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Aparna can be found in the Rig Veda, one of the oldest and most significant texts of Hinduism. In the Rig Veda, Aparna is mentioned as the daughter of the sage Atri and the wife of the sage Vasishtha. She is described as a beautiful and virtuous woman who played a significant role in several Hindu myths and legends.
Throughout Indian history, there have been several notable women who bore the name Aparna. One of the most famous was Aparna Devi (1923-2005), an Indian classical singer and musician who was renowned for her mastery of the Hindustani classical music tradition. She received numerous awards and honors, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors.
Another prominent figure with the name Aparna was Aparna Sen (born 1945), an acclaimed Indian filmmaker, writer, and actress. She has directed several critically acclaimed films and has won numerous awards, including the National Film Award for Best Direction. Sen is also known for her work as an actress in Bengali cinema.
In the realm of literature, Aparna Bhardwaj (born 1984) is a renowned Indian poet and writer. Her works explore themes of identity, feminism, and social issues, and she has received several prestigious awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar and the Tagore Literary Award.
Another notable figure with the name Aparna is Aparna Popat (born 1978), an Indian badminton player who has won numerous international tournaments and represented India in various major events, including the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games.
Aparna Yadav (born 1986) is an Indian politician and social activist who has worked extensively on issues related to women's empowerment and child welfare. She is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and has been actively involved in various political campaigns and initiatives.
People
Aparna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aparna 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
Aparna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aparna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 497 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aparna 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 689,647 US residents.
Is Aparna a common name?
We classify Aparna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 517 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aparna most popular?
The single biggest year for Aparna was 2004, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aparna is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Aparna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aparna 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.
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.