Deeksha
An Indian feminine name meaning initiation or ordination.
Name Census estimates that about 293 living Americans carry the first name Deeksha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Deeksha today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deeksha births was 2012 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deeksha. 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 Deeksha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
293
~ 1 in 1,169,810 Americans
Peak year
2012
29 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2023 SSA rank
#15,764
Tracked since 1998
Census
Deeksha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 554 people with the first name Deeksha, which placed it at #19,235 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
#19,235
National first-name rank
People counted
554
554 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deeksha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deeksha is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Deeksha 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 Deeksha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.9% · 537
- White1.4% · 8
- Two or more races0.9% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 4
Popularity
Deeksha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deeksha from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 176 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Deeksha 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 Deeksha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Deekshas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Deeksha
The name Deeksha is a Sanskrit word that has its origins in ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit root word "deeksh," which means "to initiate" or "to consecrate." The name is typically associated with the Hindu tradition and is often given to girls as a symbolic representation of their initiation into the spiritual path or as a reminder of their dedication to learning and self-improvement.
In Hindu scriptures and texts, the concept of "deeksha" holds significant importance. It is often used to refer to the ceremonial initiation or initiation into a particular spiritual practice or tradition. The Upanishads, which are ancient Hindu philosophical texts, mention the concept of "deeksha" as a means of attaining spiritual enlightenment and self-realization.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Deeksha can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In this epic, there is a character named Deeksha, who was the daughter of King Drupada. However, it is important to note that names in ancient texts were often symbolic and may not necessarily reflect the actual usage of the name at that time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Deeksha. One of the most famous was Deeksha Bhandari (1927-2015), an Indian social worker and activist who dedicated her life to empowering women and promoting education in rural areas of Rajasthan, India.
Another prominent figure was Deeksha Khanna (born 1982), an Indian television actress and model who has appeared in numerous popular shows and films. Deeksha Panickar (born 1987) is an Indian film actress and dancer who has worked primarily in Malayalam and Tamil cinema.
In the field of sports, Deeksha Gangwal (born 1990) is an Indian cricketer who has represented the Indian national women's cricket team. Deeksha Arya (born 1994) is an Indian chess player who has achieved the title of International Master and has won several national and international chess tournaments.
Overall, the name Deeksha has a rich cultural heritage and is deeply rooted in the spiritual traditions of ancient India. While its usage may have evolved over time, it continues to be a popular name choice, particularly among those with a connection to the Hindu faith or Indian culture.
People
Deeksha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deeksha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Deeksha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deeksha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 293 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deeksha 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 1,169,810 US residents.
Is Deeksha a common name?
We classify Deeksha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 296 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deeksha most popular?
The single biggest year for Deeksha was 2012, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deeksha is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Deeksha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 554 people with the name Deeksha, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,235 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 Deeksha 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 Deeksha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deeksha appears almost entirely female. Of the 551 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Deeksha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deeksha is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Deeksha most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Deeksha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.9% (537 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 Deeksha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deeksha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Deeksha 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 Deeksha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deeksha 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 Deeksha 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 Deeksha?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Deeksha at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.