Aswath
A masculine Sanskrit name meaning "rider of horses" or "master of horses".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Aswath. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Aswath today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aswath births was 2012 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aswath. 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 Aswath. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2012
5 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2012 SSA rank
#12,438
Tracked since 2012
Popularity
Aswath: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Aswath 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 Aswath 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 Aswath
The name Aswath finds its origins in the Sanskrit language, tracing back to ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Ashva," meaning horse, and "tha," meaning a state or condition. The name thus signifies someone with the qualities akin to a horse, such as strength, endurance, and nobility.
In Hindu mythology, the horse holds a sacred position and is associated with various deities. The Ashvamedha Yajna, a powerful ritual described in the Vedas, involved the sacrifice of a horse, symbolizing the conquest of the earth. This connection could have contributed to the name's adoption and significance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aswath appears in the ancient Sanskrit text, the Mahabharata. Aswath was the name of a warrior who fought alongside the Pandavas, the protagonists of the epic. His bravery and valor in battle were celebrated, cementing the name's association with courage and strength.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Aswath. Aswath Kannada (1050 - 1120 CE) was a renowned poet and scholar from the Western Ganga Dynasty, celebrated for his contributions to Kannada literature. His works, such as the Raghavapandaviya, have left an indelible mark on the cultural heritage of Karnataka.
Aswath Damodaran (born 1957) is a renowned finance professor at the Stern School of Business, New York University. He is widely regarded as an authority on corporate finance and valuation, authoring several influential books and serving as a consultant to numerous corporations.
Aswath Viswanathan (born 1978) is an accomplished Indian classical dancer and choreographer. He has performed extensively, both nationally and internationally, and is known for his innovative approach to Bharatanatyam, a traditional Indian dance form.
Aswath Narayanan (born 1967) is a computer scientist and professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has made significant contributions to the field of computer networking, particularly in the areas of network security and wireless networks.
Aswath Reddy (born 1976) is an Indian entrepreneur and investor, best known for co-founding the e-commerce platform, FashionAndYou. His successful entrepreneurial ventures have earned him recognition as a prominent figure in the Indian startup ecosystem.
People
Aswath + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aswath 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
Aswath: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aswath?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aswath 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 Aswath a common name?
We classify Aswath 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 Aswath most popular?
The single biggest year for Aswath was 2012, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aswath is about 14 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 Aswath in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aswath a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aswath 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 Aswath still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aswath 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 Aswath 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 many Americans are named Aswath?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.