Bhavana
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "cultivating consciousness" or "understanding".
Name Census estimates that about 107 living Americans carry the first name Bhavana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bhavana today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bhavana births was 2001 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bhavana. 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 Bhavana with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
107
~ 1 in 3,203,312 Americans
Peak year
2001
11 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2010 SSA rank
#10,551
Tracked since 1995
Census
Bhavana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,319 people with the first name Bhavana, which placed it at #10,205 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
#10,205
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,319 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
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 Bhavana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bhavana is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.7%) and Black (0.5%). 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 Bhavana 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 Bhavana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.9% · 1,278
- White1.7% · 23
- Black or African American0.5% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 5
- Two or more races0.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Bhavana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bhavana from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 77 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bhavana 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 Bhavana 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 Bhavana
The name Bhavana originated from Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the linguistic foundation for many modern Indian languages. It is derived from the Sanskrit root "bhav," which means "to become" or "to exist." Bhavana is a feminine name that carries the meaning of "meditation," "contemplation," or "cultivation of the mind."
In Hindu and Buddhist philosophies, bhavana is a concept closely tied to the practice of meditation and mindfulness. It refers to the act of cultivating positive mental states, such as compassion, equanimity, and wisdom, through focused attention and introspection. The name Bhavana resonates with these spiritual teachings, symbolizing the journey of self-discovery and inner growth.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Bhavana can be found in ancient Sanskrit literature, particularly in texts related to yoga and meditation practices. The concept of bhavana is prominently discussed in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a foundational text on the philosophy and practice of yoga, which dates back to around the 2nd century BCE.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Bhavana. One of the most famous was Bhavana Rishi, a renowned Indian sage and poet who lived during the 8th century CE. She is renowned for her spiritual verses and her contributions to the Bhakti movement, a devotional tradition within Hinduism.
Another notable figure was Bhavana Payasi, a Buddhist nun and scholar from the 5th century CE. She was highly regarded for her knowledge of the Buddhist scriptures and her teachings on the nature of consciousness and mindfulness.
In the realm of literature, Bhavana Kumarappa was a prolific Indian writer and translator who lived from 1898 to 1980. She played a significant role in promoting Indian literature and culture through her translations of classical Sanskrit texts.
Bhavana Ravi was an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who lived from 1933 to 2019. She was renowned for her contributions to the revival and promotion of the Kuchipudi dance form, a traditional Indian classical dance originating from the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Bhavana Pandey, born in 1967, is an Indian fashion designer and entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of the renowned fashion label "Dolce & Gabbana India," and has been instrumental in introducing Indian craftsmanship and textiles to the global fashion industry.
People
Bhavana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bhavana as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bhavana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bhavana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 107 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bhavana 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 3,203,312 US residents.
Is Bhavana a common name?
We classify Bhavana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 109 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bhavana most popular?
The single biggest year for Bhavana was 2001, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bhavana is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bhavana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,319 people with the name Bhavana, or 0.44 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,205 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 Bhavana 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 Bhavana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bhavana appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,318 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 Bhavana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bhavana is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.7%) and Black (0.5%). 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 Bhavana most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Bhavana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.9% (1,278 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 Bhavana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bhavana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bhavana 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 Bhavana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bhavana 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 Bhavana 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 Bhavana?
Want to know how many Americans are named Bhavana? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.