Arnika
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "ray of light".
Name Census estimates that about 185 living Americans carry the first name Arnika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arnika today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arnika births was 2020 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arnika. 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 Arnika with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
185
~ 1 in 1,852,726 Americans
Peak year
2020
22 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,641
Tracked since 1972
Census
Arnika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 200 people with the first name Arnika, which placed it at #38,397 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
#38,397
National first-name rank
People counted
200
200 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
40.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arnika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arnika is Asian/Pacific Islander at 40.0%. The next largest groups are Black (39.5%) and White (15.5%). 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 Arnika 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 Arnika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander40.0% · 80
- Black or African American39.5% · 79
- White15.5% · 31
- Two or more races2.5% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2
Popularity
Arnika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arnika from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 90 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arnika 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 Arnika during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arnikas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Arnika
The name Arnika is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, derived from the word "arnika" meaning "plant" or "herb." It is thought to be related to the flowering plant known as arnica, which has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times.
Arnika has been a popular name in various parts of India for centuries, particularly in regions where Sanskrit has had a strong influence on local languages and cultures. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 5th century BCE, appearing in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Arnika was a renowned Ayurvedic physician who lived in the 7th century CE. Her contributions to the field of traditional Indian medicine were significant, and she is credited with developing several herbal remedies that are still used today.
In the 12th century, an Indian princess named Arnika is said to have played a crucial role in negotiating a peace treaty between two warring kingdoms, earning her a place in the historical records of the time.
During the Renaissance period, a German botanist named Arnika von Bingen (1098-1179) gained recognition for her extensive knowledge of medicinal plants and their uses. She authored several influential works on the subject and is considered a pioneer in the field of herbal medicine.
In more recent history, Arnika Sorenstam (born 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer who has achieved numerous accolades throughout her career, including being the first woman to play in a men's PGA Tour event since 1945.
Another notable figure is Arnika Devi (1909-1991), an Indian social reformer and activist who dedicated her life to promoting women's education and empowerment in rural areas of the country.
While the name Arnika has been more prevalent in various parts of Asia and Europe throughout history, it has also been adopted in other regions, though to a lesser extent. Regardless of its geographical distribution, the name has maintained a strong connection to its botanical and medicinal roots.
People
Arnika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arnika 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
Arnika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arnika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 185 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arnika 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 1,852,726 US residents.
Is Arnika a common name?
We classify Arnika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 188 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arnika most popular?
The single biggest year for Arnika was 2020, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arnika is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arnika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 200 people with the name Arnika, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,397 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 Arnika 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 Arnika?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arnika appears almost entirely female. Of the 194 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Arnika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arnika is Asian/Pacific Islander at 40.0%. The next largest groups are Black (39.5%) and White (15.5%). 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 Arnika most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Arnika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.0% (80 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 Arnika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arnika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arnika 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 Arnika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arnika 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 Arnika 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 people are named Arnika?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.