Arora
A given name of Indian origin meaning "the sun" or "the dawn".
Name Census estimates that about 293 living Americans carry the first name Arora. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arora today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arora births was 2015 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arora. 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 Arora with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
293
~ 1 in 1,169,810 Americans
Peak year
2015
22 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,612
Tracked since 1995
Census
Arora in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 381 people with the first name Arora, which placed it at #25,037 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
#25,037
National first-name rank
People counted
381
381 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arora
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arora is White at 52.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.2%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Arora 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 Arora at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.8% · 201
- Hispanic or Latino31.2% · 119
- Two or more races8.1% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 13
- Black or African American2.9% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 6
Popularity
Arora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arora from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 139 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Arora remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arora 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 Arora during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aroras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Arora
The name Arora is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was the classical language of the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "arora," which means "one who possesses knowledge or wisdom." This suggests that the name was originally given to individuals who were considered wise or learned.
In ancient Indian texts, the name Arora is mentioned as a title or epithet given to scholars, philosophers, and sages. It is believed that the name was commonly used among Brahmin communities, who were traditionally associated with education and learning. Some historical records also suggest that the name was used by members of the Vaishya caste, who were involved in trade and commerce.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arora can be found in the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, which dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In this epic, there is a character named Arora who is described as a wise and learned sage.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Arora. One of the most famous was Arora Bhatta (5th century CE), a renowned Indian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of trigonometry. Another notable figure was Arora Ravi (7th century CE), a celebrated Sanskrit scholar and poet who authored several works on grammar and poetry.
In the medieval period, the name Arora was associated with the Arorā community, a trading and mercantile group that played a significant role in the economic and cultural life of the Indian subcontinent. Some notable individuals from this community include Arora Bhavani Das (1639-1721), a wealthy merchant and philanthropist who funded the construction of several temples and educational institutions.
Other notable individuals with the name Arora include Arora Kedarnath (1835-1900), an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer who campaigned against the practice of sati (widow burning); Arora Anandamohan (1887-1957), a prominent Bengali writer and poet; and Arora Asit (1912-1989), a renowned Indian classical musician and tabla player.
Despite its ancient origins, the name Arora continues to be used in various parts of the world, particularly in India and among the Indian diaspora. Its historical association with knowledge, wisdom, and learning has contributed to its enduring popularity as a given name.
People
Arora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arora 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
Arora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 293 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arora 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 1,169,810 US residents.
Is Arora a common name?
We classify Arora as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 296 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arora most popular?
The single biggest year for Arora was 2015, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arora is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arora in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 381 people with the name Arora, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,037 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 Arora 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 Arora?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arora appears almost entirely female. Of the 383 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 Arora?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arora is White at 52.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.2%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Arora most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Arora in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.8% (201 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 Arora in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arora a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arora 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 Arora still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arora 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 Arora 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 Americans are named Arora?
See how many Americans are named Arora on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.