Gatha
An Indian feminine name derived from Sanskrit, meaning sacred poem or verse.
Name Census estimates that about 141 living Americans carry the first name Gatha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gatha today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gatha births was 1923 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gatha. 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
- • The typical person named Gatha is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Gathas were born before 1958.
People living today
141
~ 1 in 2,430,882 Americans
Peak year
1923
21 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1962 SSA rank
#6,904
Tracked since 1901
Popularity
Gatha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gatha from the 1900s through to the 1960s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 133 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gatha 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 Gatha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gathas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Gatha
The name Gatha has its origins in ancient Sanskrit, a classical language of South Asia that dates back several millennia. The word "gatha" in Sanskrit refers to a verse or a short poetic composition, often found in religious or philosophical texts.
One of the earliest known references to the name Gatha can be found in the Gathas, a collection of 17 hymns believed to have been composed by the ancient Iranian prophet Zoroaster around 1000 BCE. These sacred verses form the core of the Zoroastrian scriptures and are considered among the oldest surviving texts of the Iranian religious tradition.
In the Buddhist tradition, the term "Gatha" is used to refer to verses or short poems that express profound spiritual truths or teachings. The Dhammapada, a collection of Buddha's teachings, is composed of several Gathas, each conveying a specific message or lesson.
Throughout history, the name Gatha has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded examples is Gatha Saptashati, an Indian poet and grammarian who lived in the 7th century CE and authored a work on Sanskrit grammar titled "Saptashati."
Another prominent figure with the name Gatha was Gatha Chanda, a medieval Bengali poet and writer who lived in the 15th century CE. He is renowned for his contributions to Bengali literature, particularly his works in the tradition of Vaishnava poetry.
In the modern era, Gatha Rahbek (1856-1919) was a Danish author and translator known for her translations of works by Henrik Ibsen and other Scandinavian writers into Danish.
Gatha Mukhopadhyay (1923-1995) was an Indian writer and academic from West Bengal, who published several novels, short stories, and literary critiques in Bengali.
More recently, Gatha Machwe (born 1987) is a Zimbabwean cricketer who has represented her country in international competitions.
While the name Gatha may not be as common today, it carries a rich historical and cultural significance, particularly in the Indian subcontinent and regions influenced by the Sanskrit language and Buddhist teachings.
People
Gatha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gatha 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
Gatha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gatha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 141 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gatha 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 2,430,882 US residents.
Is Gatha a common name?
We classify Gatha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 584 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gatha most popular?
The single biggest year for Gatha was 1923, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gatha is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gatha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gatha 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.