Dhana
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "wealth" or "prosperity".
Name Census estimates that about 99 living Americans carry the first name Dhana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dhana today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dhana births was 1965 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dhana. 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 Dhana. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
99
~ 1 in 3,462,165 Americans
Peak year
1965
26 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,849
Tracked since 1964
Census
Dhana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 559 people with the first name Dhana, which placed it at #19,094 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
#19,094
National first-name rank
People counted
559
559 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
59.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dhana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dhana is Asian/Pacific Islander at 59.4%. The next largest groups are White (17.2%) and Black (10.2%). 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 Dhana 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 Dhana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander59.4% · 332
- White17.2% · 96
- Black or African American10.2% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino10.0% · 56
- Two or more races3.0% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Dhana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dhana from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 89 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dhana 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 Dhana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dhanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Dhana, while Texas, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dhana
The name Dhana is believed to have its origins in Sanskrit, one of the oldest Indo-European languages spoken in ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "dhana," which translates to "wealth" or "prosperity." This name holds deep cultural significance in Hindu traditions and can be traced back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Dhana can be found in the Rigveda, a sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns composed between 1500–1000 BCE. The name appears in various hymns and mantras, often invoking a sense of abundance and prosperity.
During the Vedic period, Dhana was a relatively common name among the upper echelons of society, particularly among the wealthy and influential families. It was believed that bestowing this name upon a child would bring them good fortune and material abundance throughout their life.
As Hinduism spread across the Indian subcontinent, the name Dhana gained popularity in various regions and cultures. It has been adopted and adapted by different linguistic groups, resulting in slight variations in spelling and pronunciation.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dhana. One such figure was Dhana Nanda (circa 362–321 BCE), the founder of the Nanda Empire in ancient India. He is remembered for his military conquests and for establishing a vast and powerful kingdom that ruled over a significant portion of the Indian subcontinent.
Another prominent figure was Dhana Rishi (circa 800 BCE), a renowned sage and author of several Vedic hymns. He is revered in Hindu traditions for his spiritual wisdom and contributions to the ancient Vedic literature.
In the 14th century, Dhana Krishna (1325–1374), a Vijayanagar Empire ruler, was known for his patronage of the arts and his efforts to promote Hindu culture and traditions during his reign.
The name Dhana also appears in Buddhist literature, particularly in the Jataka tales, which recount the previous lives of the Buddha. Dhana was a merchant in one of the stories, known for his generosity and compassion towards others.
In more recent times, Dhana Pātra (1887–1932) was a prominent Bengali poet and writer who made significant contributions to the literary world of the early 20th century in India.
While the name Dhana has its roots in ancient Hindu traditions, it has transcended cultural boundaries and has been embraced by various communities across the Indian subcontinent, each adding their unique cultural interpretations and significance to this name.
People
Dhana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dhana 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
Dhana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dhana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 99 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dhana 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 3,462,165 US residents.
Is Dhana a common name?
We classify Dhana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 115 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dhana most popular?
The single biggest year for Dhana was 1965, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dhana is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dhana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 559 people with the name Dhana, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,094 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 Dhana 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 Dhana?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Dhana on both sides of the split. Of the 557 people counted with this name, 117 were male (21.0%) and 440 were female (79.0%). 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 Dhana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dhana is Asian/Pacific Islander at 59.4%. The next largest groups are White (17.2%) and Black (10.2%). 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 Dhana most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Dhana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.4% (332 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 Dhana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dhana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dhana 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 Dhana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dhana 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 Dhana 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 have Dhana as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.