Charan
A masculine Sanskrit name denoting the divine feet or sacred footprints.
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the first name Charan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Charan today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charan births was 2012 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charan. 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 Charan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
126
~ 1 in 2,720,273 Americans
Peak year
2012
13 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,105
Tracked since 2000
Census
Charan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 732 people with the first name Charan, which placed it at #15,649 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
#15,649
National first-name rank
People counted
732
732 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
85.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.8%. The next largest groups are White (6.3%) and Black (3.7%). 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 Charan 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 Charan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander85.8% · 628
- White6.3% · 46
- Black or African American3.7% · 27
- Two or more races2.3% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 5
Popularity
Charan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Charan from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 63 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Charan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Charan 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 Charan 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 Charan
The name Charan has its roots in the Sanskrit language, originating from ancient India. It dates back to the Vedic period, which spans from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE. The word "Charan" is derived from the Sanskrit word "Charana," meaning "feet" or "the one who serves."
In Hindu mythology, the term "Charan" is often associated with the devotional act of touching the feet of a revered person or deity as a sign of respect and humility. This practice is deeply ingrained in Hindu culture and is believed to bestow blessings and seek forgiveness.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Charan can be found in the ancient Hindu scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Upanishads. These sacred texts frequently refer to the concept of "Charan-Seva," which translates to "service at the feet" and signifies devotion and surrender to a higher power.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Charan. One of the most renowned was Charan Das (1703-1782), a celebrated Indian poet and saint from the Braj region of northern India. His devotional compositions, known as "Charanars," are widely revered and continue to be recited by devotees to this day.
Another historical figure was Charan Singh (1902-1987), an influential Indian politician and the fifth Prime Minister of India. He served as the leader of the Bharatiya Lok Dal political party and was known for his advocacy of farmers' rights and rural development.
In the field of Indian classical music, Charan Patnaik (1938-1998) was a renowned Odissi dancer and choreographer. He played a pivotal role in reviving and popularizing the Odissi dance form, which originated in the eastern Indian state of Odisha.
Charan Arjun Singh (1918-2012) was a distinguished Indian diplomat and statesman. He served as the Foreign Minister of India from 1982 to 1986 and played a crucial role in shaping India's foreign policy during a turbulent period in international relations.
Charan Singh Sapra (1926-2003), better known as Om Puri, was a celebrated Indian actor who achieved international fame for his performances in films like "Gandhi," "City of Joy," and "East is East." He was honored with numerous awards, including the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honors.
While the name Charan has its roots in ancient Hindu traditions, it has transcended cultural and religious boundaries and is now used by people from various backgrounds around the world, reflecting the rich tapestry of human diversity.
People
Charan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charan 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
Charan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 126 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charan 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 2,720,273 US residents.
Is Charan a common name?
We classify Charan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 127 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charan most popular?
The single biggest year for Charan was 2012, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charan is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Charan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 732 people with the name Charan, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,649 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 Charan 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 Charan?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Charan on both sides of the split. Of the 737 people counted with this name, 538 were male (73.0%) and 199 were female (27.0%). 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 Charan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.8%. The next largest groups are White (6.3%) and Black (3.7%). 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 Charan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Charan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.8% (628 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 Charan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Charan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Charan 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 Charan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Charan 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 Charan 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 Charan?
See how many Americans are named Charan on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.