Ashanda
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially derived from Swahili elements.
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Ashanda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ashanda today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ashanda births was 1975 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ashanda. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ashanda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
1975
7 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
1983 SSA rank
#10,394
Tracked since 1975
Popularity
Ashanda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ashanda from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 12 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
Ashanda 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 Ashanda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ashanda
The name Ashanda has its origins rooted in the ancient Sanskrit language, tracing back to the Indian subcontinent during the Vedic period, around the 2nd millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Ashanda," which translates to "prosperous" or "abundant." The name carries connotations of prosperity, fertility, and abundance, reflecting the cultural values and beliefs of the ancient Indo-Aryan civilizations.
Ashanda was a relatively uncommon name in ancient India, but its usage can be found in some historical records and literary works from the region. One notable mention is in the Mahabharata, a revered Hindu epic dating back to the 8th or 9th century BCE, where Ashanda is mentioned as a minor character associated with the Pandava princes.
The earliest recorded individual bearing the name Ashanda was a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in the 5th century CE in the region of modern-day Rajasthan, India. This scholar, known as Ashanda Acharya, made significant contributions to the field of Nyaya philosophy, a school of Indian logic and epistemology.
During the medieval period, the name Ashanda gained some popularity among the ruling classes in parts of Central and Northern India. One notable figure was Ashanda Devi, a queen consort of the Rajput kingdom of Mewar in the 12th century CE. She was renowned for her patronage of the arts and her involvement in the construction of several temples and monuments.
In the 16th century CE, an influential Sufi saint and poet from the Indian subcontinent, Ashanda Shah, gained widespread recognition for his spiritual teachings and poetic works. His devotional poetry, written in the local dialects of the time, played a significant role in the spread of Sufism across the region.
Another notable individual bearing the name Ashanda was a 17th-century warrior and military commander from the Maratha Empire in present-day Maharashtra, India. Ashanda Raje Bhonsle was renowned for his bravery and strategic military prowess, leading many successful campaigns against the Mughal Empire.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who carried the name Ashanda, reflecting its deep-rooted cultural significance and historical presence in various parts of the Indian subcontinent throughout different eras.
People
Ashanda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ashanda 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
Ashanda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ashanda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ashanda 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 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Ashanda a common name?
We classify Ashanda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 23 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ashanda most popular?
The single biggest year for Ashanda was 1975, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ashanda is about 47 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 Ashanda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ashanda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ashanda 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 Ashanda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ashanda 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 Ashanda 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 Ashanda?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.