Arko
A Hindu name meaning "sun" or "sun's rays".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Arko. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Arko today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arko births was 2013 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arko. 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 Arko with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Arko. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2013
5 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2013 SSA rank
#12,295
Tracked since 2013
Popularity
Arko: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Arko 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 Arko during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Arko
The name Arko is of Sanskrit origin and has its roots in ancient Indian culture. It is believed to have emerged during the Vedic period, which spans from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE. The name Arko is derived from the Sanskrit word "Arka," which means the sun or the sun god.
In Hindu mythology, Arka or Surya is the name given to the sun god, who is considered one of the most important deities in the Vedic pantheon. The sun god is often depicted as a charioteer driving a chariot pulled by seven horses, representing the seven days of the week. The name Arko is a direct reference to this powerful solar deity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arko can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In this epic, Arko is mentioned as the name of a warrior who fought alongside the Pandavas in the great battle of Kurukshetra. While the exact time period of the events depicted in the Mahabharata is debated, most scholars place it sometime between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Arko. One of the earliest known was Arko of Pataliputra, a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in the 3rd century BCE during the reign of the Mauryan Empire. His works on logic and epistemology were highly influential in shaping Indian philosophical thought.
Another notable figure was Arko Brahmin, a 9th-century CE Indian astronomer and mathematician from the region of modern-day Gujarat. He made significant contributions to the field of astronomy and is credited with developing a method for calculating the positions of planets and stars.
In more recent times, Arko Mukherjee (1888-1964) was an Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter who played a pivotal role in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule. He was a close associate of the famous revolutionary leader, Subhas Chandra Bose.
Arko Datto (1940-2015) was a renowned Indian classical vocalist and an exponent of the Agra gharana. He was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honors, in recognition of his contributions to the field of music.
Lastly, Arko Pravo Mukherjee (1965-present) is a contemporary Indian author and playwright whose works explore themes of identity, relationships, and societal issues. His play "The Sandalwood Box" won the Sahitya Akademi Award, India's highest literary honor, in 2010.
People
Arko + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arko 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
Arko: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arko?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arko 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Arko a common name?
We classify Arko as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arko most popular?
The single biggest year for Arko was 2013, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arko is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Arko in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arko a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arko 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 Arko still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arko 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 Arko 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Arko?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Arko at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.