Chaitra
A feminine Hindu name referring to the first month of the Hindu calendar.
Name Census estimates that about 253 living Americans carry the first name Chaitra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chaitra today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chaitra births was 2018 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chaitra. 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 Chaitra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
253
~ 1 in 1,354,760 Americans
Peak year
2018
25 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,969
Tracked since 1977
Census
Chaitra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 504 people with the first name Chaitra, which placed it at #20,488 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
#20,488
National first-name rank
People counted
504
504 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
90.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chaitra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chaitra is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and White (3.4%). 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 Chaitra 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 Chaitra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.5% · 456
- Black or African American4.6% · 23
- White3.4% · 17
- Two or more races1.0% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 3
Popularity
Chaitra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chaitra from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 153 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Chaitra remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chaitra 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 Chaitra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chaitras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New Jersey, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Chaitra, while California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chaitra
The name Chaitra has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was the classical literary language of the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Chaitrā," which refers to the first month of the Hindu calendar, typically corresponding to March-April in the Gregorian calendar. This month is associated with the arrival of spring and the celebration of various Hindu festivals.
Chaitra is a name commonly found in Hindu communities, particularly those from the Indian subcontinent. It is mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, such as the Vedas and the Puranas, where it is associated with the spring season and the renewal of life.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chaitra can be found in the Rigveda, one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism, which dates back to approximately 1500-1200 BCE. In the Rigveda, Chaitra is mentioned as the name of a particular hymn or verse, reflecting the significance of this month in the Hindu tradition.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Chaitra. One such individual was Chaitra Gupta, an influential Indian scholar and mathematician who lived in the 7th century CE. He is renowned for his contributions to the field of mathematics, particularly in the areas of algebra and trigonometry.
Another prominent figure was Chaitra Nath Singh, an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary who lived from 1887 to 1924. He played an active role in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule and was involved in several revolutionary activities.
In the realm of literature, Chaitra Devi was a renowned Nepali poet and writer who lived from 1903 to 1938. She is considered one of the pioneers of modern Nepali literature and is known for her works that explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
Chaitra Tirunal Rama Varma, who lived from 1857 to 1924, was a prominent ruler of the Indian princely state of Travancore (now part of Kerala). He was highly regarded for his progressive policies and his patronage of the arts and literature.
Another notable individual was Chaitra Devi Shahi, a Nepali politician and activist who lived from 1927 to 2010. She was a prominent figure in the women's rights movement in Nepal and played a significant role in the country's struggle for democracy.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Chaitra, showcasing its enduring presence and significance within various cultural and historical contexts.
People
Chaitra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chaitra 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
Chaitra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chaitra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 253 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chaitra 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 1,354,760 US residents.
Is Chaitra a common name?
We classify Chaitra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 256 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chaitra most popular?
The single biggest year for Chaitra was 2018, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chaitra is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chaitra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 504 people with the name Chaitra, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,488 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 Chaitra 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 Chaitra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chaitra leans strongly female. 506 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 7 male bearers (1.4%). 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 Chaitra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chaitra is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and White (3.4%). 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 Chaitra most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Chaitra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (456 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 Chaitra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chaitra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chaitra 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 Chaitra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chaitra 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 Chaitra 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 people are named Chaitra?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.