Chamara
An Indian unisex name meaning "excellent" or "prosperous".
Name Census estimates that about 73 living Americans carry the first name Chamara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chamara today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chamara births was 1997 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chamara. 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 Chamara. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
73
~ 1 in 4,695,265 Americans
Peak year
1997
8 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2007 SSA rank
#14,227
Tracked since 1977
Popularity
Chamara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chamara from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 23 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Chamara remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chamara 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 Chamara 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 Chamara
The name Chamara has its origins in the Sanskrit language, with roots that can be traced back to ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "chamara," which means a whisk or a fly-whisk made from the tail of a yak or a cow. These whisks were traditionally used as ceremonial objects in Hindu and Buddhist rituals to fan deities or revered individuals.
In Hinduism, the chamara is closely associated with several gods and goddesses, including Shiva, Vishnu, and Lakshmi. It is considered a symbol of royalty, respect, and reverence. The name Chamara may have been given to individuals who were involved in religious or spiritual pursuits or those who held positions of honor and esteem.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Chamara can be found in ancient Indian texts and inscriptions dating back to the 5th century CE. One notable figure from this era was Chamara Sambhava, a Buddhist philosopher and scholar who lived in the 7th century CE and made significant contributions to the study of Buddhist logic and epistemology.
Another historical figure with the name Chamara was Chamara Rishi, a renowned Hindu sage and author who lived in the 8th century CE. He is credited with writing several influential texts on Hinduism, including the "Chamara Smriti," which explored various aspects of Hindu dharma and social conduct.
In the 12th century CE, there was a Chamara Devi, a Hindu queen and the wife of the Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support for the construction of temples and monuments in the region.
Chamara Nath was a 16th-century Indian poet and writer who composed several works in the Braj Bhasha dialect of Hindi. He was born in 1556 and is remembered for his contribution to the bhakti (devotional) literary tradition.
Another notable figure with the name Chamara was Chamara Raju, a 17th-century ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire in southern India. He reigned from 1648 to 1672 and was known for his military campaigns and the expansion of his kingdom's territories.
While the name Chamara has its roots in ancient India, it has been adopted and used in various parts of the world over the centuries, particularly in regions influenced by Hindu and Buddhist cultures.
People
Chamara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chamara 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
Chamara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chamara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 73 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chamara 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 4,695,265 US residents.
Is Chamara a common name?
We classify Chamara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 76 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chamara most popular?
The single biggest year for Chamara was 1997, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chamara is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Chamara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chamara 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.
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.