Chaitanya
An Indian masculine name meaning "consciousness" or "pure awareness".
Name Census estimates that about 164 living Americans carry the first name Chaitanya. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Chaitanya today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chaitanya births was 1999 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chaitanya. 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 Chaitanya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
164
~ 1 in 2,089,965 Americans
Peak year
1999
14 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2019 SSA rank
#12,485
Tracked since 1994
Census
Chaitanya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,766 people with the first name Chaitanya, which placed it at #8,252 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
#8,252
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,766 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chaitanya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chaitanya is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.2%. The next largest groups are White (1.9%) and Black (0.6%). 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 Chaitanya 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 Chaitanya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.2% · 1,699
- White1.9% · 33
- Black or African American0.6% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 10
- Two or more races0.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Popularity
Chaitanya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chaitanya 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 91 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Chaitanya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chaitanya 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 Chaitanya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chaitanyas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Chaitanya
The name Chaitanya has its roots in the Sanskrit language, which originated in ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "cit," meaning consciousness or awareness, and "anya," meaning other or distinct. The name thus translates to "pure consciousness" or "supreme awareness."
The earliest known record of the name Chaitanya appears in Hindu scriptures and texts, particularly in the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most revered Hindu texts. It is mentioned in reference to the state of divine consciousness and spiritual enlightenment that is the ultimate goal of human existence according to Hindu philosophy.
One of the most famous individuals to bear the name Chaitanya was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534), a renowned Hindu mystic, saint, and founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition within Hinduism. He is revered as an avatar (incarnation) of Lord Krishna and is credited with reviving the Bhakti movement, which emphasizes devotional worship and love for the divine.
Another significant figure in history with the name Chaitanya was Chaitanya Deva (1917-1987), an Indian philosopher and spiritual teacher who founded the Ananda Marga movement. He emphasized the practice of meditation and yoga as a means of achieving self-realization and promoting universal peace.
In the field of literature, Chaitanya Bhagavata is a celebrated 16th-century Sanskrit work that chronicles the life and teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It was written by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura, one of Mahaprabhu's prominent disciples.
The name Chaitanya has also been borne by several notable scholars and intellectuals, such as Chaitanya Rishi (1835-1899), a renowned Indian philosopher and social reformer who advocated for the empowerment of women and the abolition of caste-based discrimination.
Chaitanya Kaleluiya (1889-1963) was a prominent Indian educationist and social worker who dedicated his life to promoting education and social welfare, particularly in rural areas of Maharashtra.
While the name Chaitanya has its origins in Hinduism and Sanskrit, it has transcended religious boundaries and has been adopted by individuals across various cultures and belief systems, drawn to its profound meaning and spiritual connotations.
People
Chaitanya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chaitanya as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Chaitanya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chaitanya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 164 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chaitanya 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 2,089,965 US residents.
Is Chaitanya a common name?
We classify Chaitanya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 166 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chaitanya most popular?
The single biggest year for Chaitanya was 1999, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chaitanya is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chaitanya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,766 people with the name Chaitanya, or 0.58 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,252 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 Chaitanya 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 Chaitanya?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Chaitanya on both sides of the split. Of the 1,757 people counted with this name, 1,339 were male (76.2%) and 418 were female (23.8%). 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 Chaitanya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chaitanya is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.2%. The next largest groups are White (1.9%) and Black (0.6%). 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 Chaitanya most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Chaitanya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (1,699 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 Chaitanya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chaitanya a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chaitanya 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 Chaitanya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chaitanya 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 Chaitanya 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 common is the name Chaitanya?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.