Gagandeep
Light from the sky; brilliant as the heavens.
Name Census estimates that about 176 living Americans carry the first name Gagandeep. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 71.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Gagandeep today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gagandeep births was 1996 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gagandeep. 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 Gagandeep with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
176
~ 1 in 1,947,468 Americans
Peak year
1996
21 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2007 SSA rank
#9,676
Tracked since 1991
Census
Gagandeep in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,491 people with the first name Gagandeep, which placed it at #9,350 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
#9,350
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,491 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gagandeep
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gagandeep is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.0%) and Two or More Races (0.6%). 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 Gagandeep 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 Gagandeep at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.4% · 1,437
- White2.0% · 30
- Two or more races0.6% · 9
- Black or African American0.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Gagandeep
Gagandeep is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 180 total registrations, 129 (71.7%) were male and 51 (28.3%) were female.
Gagandeep as a male name
- Ranked #10,126 in 2007
- 7 male births in 2007
- Peak: 1994 (13 births)
Gagandeep as a female name
- Ranked #9,676 in 2005
- 11 female births in 2005
- Peak: 2005 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Gagandeep on both sides of the split. Of the 1,484 people counted with this name, 890 were male (60.0%) and 594 were female (40.0%).
Popularity
Gagandeep: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gagandeep from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 124 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Gagandeep remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gagandeep 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 Gagandeep during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gagandeeps live
Origin
Meaning and history of Gagandeep
The name Gagandeep originates from the Sanskrit language, which was the classical language of ancient India. The first part of the name, "Gagan," means "sky" or "heaven," while "deep" means "light" or "lamp." Thus, the name Gagandeep can be translated to mean "the light of the sky" or "the heavenly light."
This name has its roots in Hindu mythology and spiritual traditions, where the sky and celestial bodies hold significant symbolic meaning. It may have been given to individuals with a connection to the spiritual realm or those born under auspicious celestial circumstances.
The earliest recorded use of the name Gagandeep is found in ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, such as the Vedas and Puranas, which date back to several centuries BCE. These texts often personified celestial objects and phenomena, and the name Gagandeep could have been inspired by such personifications.
One notable historical figure with the name Gagandeep was a 12th-century Hindu poet and philosopher from the Indian subcontinent. His works explored themes of love, devotion, and the human condition, often drawing inspiration from the natural world and celestial imagery.
In the 16th century, there was a Gagandeep who was a renowned astrologer and astronomer at the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. He contributed significantly to the development of astronomical knowledge during that era and was highly respected for his expertise.
During the 19th century, a Gagandeep Singh was a prominent leader in the Sikh resistance against the British colonial rule in India. He played a crucial role in organizing and leading several uprisings, driven by a desire for freedom and self-determination.
Another notable individual with this name was Gagandeep Kaur, a 20th-century Punjabi writer and activist from India. Her literary works explored themes of social justice, women's rights, and the preservation of cultural heritage. She was also an active participant in the Indian independence movement.
In the field of sports, Gagandeep Singh was a celebrated Indian hockey player who represented his country in multiple Olympic games during the late 20th century. He was known for his exceptional skills and leadership on the field, helping India win several medals in international competitions.
People
Gagandeep + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gagandeep as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gagandeep: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gagandeep?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 176 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gagandeep 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 1,947,468 US residents.
Is Gagandeep a common name?
We classify Gagandeep as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 180 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gagandeep most popular?
The single biggest year for Gagandeep was 1996, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gagandeep is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gagandeep in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,491 people with the name Gagandeep, or 0.49 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,350 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 Gagandeep 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 Gagandeep?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Gagandeep on both sides of the split. Of the 1,484 people counted with this name, 890 were male (60.0%) and 594 were female (40.0%). 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 Gagandeep?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gagandeep is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.0%) and Two or More Races (0.6%). 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 Gagandeep most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Gagandeep in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.4% (1,437 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 Gagandeep in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gagandeep a male name?
Yes, 71.7% of people registered as Gagandeep 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 Gagandeep still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gagandeep 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 Gagandeep 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 called Gagandeep?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.