Chandni
A feminine name of Hindi origin meaning "moonlight" or "moonbeam".
Name Census estimates that about 387 living Americans carry the first name Chandni. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chandni today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chandni births was 1992 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chandni. 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.
People living today
387
~ 1 in 885,670 Americans
Peak year
1992
39 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2007 SSA rank
#18,182
Tracked since 1985
Popularity
Chandni: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chandni from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 252 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Chandni remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chandni 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 Chandni during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chandnis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the most babies named Chandni, while Illinois, New Jersey, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chandni
Chandni is a feminine given name with origins in the Sanskrit and Hindi languages. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Chandra," which means "moon." The name Chandni is believed to have emerged during the medieval period in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in regions where Sanskrit and its derived languages were widely spoken.
This name holds significance in Hindu mythology, where the moon is revered as a celestial deity. In ancient Hindu texts, such as the Vedas and Puranas, the moon god is often referred to as Chandra or Chandrama. The name Chandni is a poetic way of associating a person with the beauty and radiance of the moon.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chandni can be found in the 16th-century Braj Bhasha poetry of the Krishna devotional tradition. Poets like Surdas and Mirabai used the name Chandni as a metaphor for the divine feminine or as a descriptor for the beloved.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Chandni. One prominent figure was Chandni Begum (1711-1793), a beloved wife of the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah and a renowned patron of arts and architecture. Another was Chandni Lall (1887-1942), an Indian actress and dancer who was a pioneer of early Indian cinema.
In the realm of literature, Chandni Lokuge (born 1948) is a Sri Lankan-Australian author and academic, known for her novels and short stories exploring themes of migration and identity. Chandni Jaffar (born 1949) is a distinguished Indian classical vocalist and Padma Shri recipient, renowned for her contributions to Hindustani music.
More recently, Chandni Kapoor (born 1987) is an Indian actress and model who has appeared in various Bollywood films and television shows. These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Chandni throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields.
People
Chandni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chandni 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
Chandni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chandni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 387 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chandni 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 885,670 US residents.
Is Chandni a common name?
We classify Chandni as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 400 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chandni most popular?
The single biggest year for Chandni was 1992, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chandni is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Chandni a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chandni 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.