Bina
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "brilliant, radiant".
Name Census estimates that about 724 living Americans carry the first name Bina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bina today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bina births was 2019 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bina. 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 Bina with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
724
~ 1 in 473,418 Americans
Peak year
2019
34 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,185
Tracked since 1881
Census
Bina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,110 people with the first name Bina, which placed it at #7,281 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
#7,281
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,110 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
66.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bina is Asian/Pacific Islander at 66.2%. The next largest groups are White (26.7%) and Black (3.3%). 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 Bina 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 Bina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander66.2% · 1,397
- White26.7% · 564
- Black or African American3.3% · 70
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 44
- Two or more races1.5% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Popularity
Bina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bina from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 192 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bina remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bina 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 Bina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Binas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Bina
The name Bina has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "bindu," which means "drop" or "dot." This name has a rich history that spans across various cultures and time periods.
In Hinduism, the term "bindu" holds significant spiritual and philosophical connotations, representing the source of creation and the ultimate reality. The name Bina is often associated with the concept of the divine feminine energy, also known as "Shakti" in Hindu philosophy.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bina can be found in ancient Hindu texts, such as the Upanishads and the Puranas. These sacred scriptures mention the name in various contexts, often as a representation of the divine feminine principle or as a symbolic reference to the universe's origin.
During the ancient and medieval periods, the name Bina was relatively uncommon but not unheard of. One notable historical figure bearing this name was Bina Devi, a 16th-century Hindu queen from the Ahom kingdom in present-day Assam, India. She was known for her courage and leadership during times of conflict.
As time progressed, the name Bina gained popularity across various regions of South Asia, particularly in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Several prominent individuals have carried this name throughout history, including:
1. Bina Rai (1919-2009), a renowned Indian actress and dancer who made significant contributions to the Bengali film industry.
2. Bina Agarwal (born 1951), an Indian economist and professor known for her work on gender, land rights, and environmental economics.
3. Bina Ramani (1942-2022), an Indian businesswoman and socialite who founded the famous Ramani's nightclub in New Delhi.
4. Bina Puri (born 1956), a Malaysian businesswoman and the founder of Bina Puri Holdings Berhad, a construction company.
5. Bina Chatterjee (1924-2001), an Indian classical singer and exponent of the Patiala gharana, a prominent musical lineage.
While the name Bina has its roots in Sanskrit and Hinduism, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly among communities with South Asian heritage. The name continues to be cherished for its spiritual and linguistic significance, as well as its association with notable individuals throughout history.
People
Bina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bina 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
Bina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 724 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bina 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 473,418 US residents.
Is Bina a common name?
We classify Bina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,265 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bina most popular?
The single biggest year for Bina was 2019, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bina is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,110 people with the name Bina, or 0.70 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,281 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 Bina 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 Bina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bina leans strongly female. 2,079 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 28 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Bina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bina is Asian/Pacific Islander at 66.2%. The next largest groups are White (26.7%) and Black (3.3%). 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 Bina most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Bina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.2% (1,397 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 Bina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bina 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 Bina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bina 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 Bina 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 Bina?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.