Ashish
An Indian masculine name derived from Sanskrit meaning "without sorrow" or "free from grief".
Name Census estimates that about 870 living Americans carry the first name Ashish. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ashish today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ashish births was 2000 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ashish. 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 Ashish with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
870
~ 1 in 393,971 Americans
Peak year
2000
32 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,466
Tracked since 1968
Census
Ashish in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,090 people with the first name Ashish, which placed it at #3,425 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
#3,425
National first-name rank
People counted
6.1K
6,090 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ashish
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ashish is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.8%) and Two or More Races (0.7%). 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 Ashish 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 Ashish at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.9% · 5,900
- White1.8% · 111
- Two or more races0.7% · 40
- Black or African American0.4% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino0.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 7
Popularity
Ashish: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ashish from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 225 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ashish 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 Ashish during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ashishs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Ashish, while Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ashish
The name Ashish is of Sanskrit origin and is derived from the word "ashisha," which means "blessing" or "benediction." It is a popular name in the Indian subcontinent, particularly among Hindus.
The earliest recorded use of the name Ashish can be traced back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, such as the Vedas and the Puranas. In these texts, the name is often associated with auspicious occasions and celebrations.
One of the earliest historical references to the name Ashish is found in the epic poem Mahabharata, where it is mentioned as the name of a character. This epic is believed to have been composed between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Ashish. One of the most famous was Ashish Nanda, an Indian mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 5th century CE. He made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and is credited with developing the concept of zero.
Another prominent figure with the name Ashish was Ashish Ghosh, an Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter who played a pivotal role in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule. He was born in 1893 and was executed by the British in 1923 for his involvement in the revolutionary activities.
In the realm of literature, Ashish Nandy is a renowned Indian political psychologist, social theorist, and writer. Born in 1937, he has written extensively on topics such as the trauma of colonialism, the psychology of nationalism, and the challenges of modernity.
In the world of sports, Ashish Nehra is a former Indian cricketer who played for the Indian national team as a fast bowler. He was born in 1979 and represented India in various international cricket tournaments, including the World Cup.
Lastly, Ashish Vidyarthi is an Indian actor and social activist who has appeared in numerous Bollywood films and television shows. Born in 1962, he is known for his versatile performances and his advocacy for various social causes.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Ashish, a name that carries a rich cultural and historical significance in the Indian subcontinent.
People
Ashish + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ashish 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
Ashish: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ashish?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 870 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ashish 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 393,971 US residents.
Is Ashish a common name?
We classify Ashish as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 903 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ashish most popular?
The single biggest year for Ashish was 2000, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ashish is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ashish in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,090 people with the name Ashish, or 2.02 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,425 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 Ashish 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 Ashish?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ashish appears almost entirely male. Of the 6,090 people counted with this name, 99.4% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Ashish?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ashish is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.8%) and Two or More Races (0.7%). 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 Ashish most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ashish in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.9% (5,900 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 Ashish in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ashish a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ashish 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 Ashish still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ashish 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 Ashish 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 Ashish?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.