Geetha
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "song" or "poem".
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Geetha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Geetha today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Geetha births was 1977 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Geetha. 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 Geetha. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
1977
7 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
1983 SSA rank
#9,407
Tracked since 1975
Census
Geetha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,014 people with the first name Geetha, which placed it at #7,539 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
#7,539
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
2,014 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Geetha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Geetha is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.6%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Geetha 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 Geetha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.6% · 1,965
- White0.9% · 18
- Two or more races0.8% · 17
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Geetha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Geetha from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 17 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Geetha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Geetha 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 Geetha 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 Geetha
The name Geetha has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest languages in the world and has been spoken in the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "gita," which means "song" or "hymn." It is closely associated with the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu scripture that is considered one of the most influential texts in Indian philosophy and spirituality.
The Bhagavad Gita, composed between the 5th and 2nd centuries BCE, is a part of the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. The text is written in the form of a dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and his charioteer, who is revealed to be the god Krishna. In this dialogue, Krishna imparts wisdom and guidance to Arjuna on topics such as duty, devotion, and the nature of the self.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Geetha can be found in the ancient Indian literature, where it is often used to refer to the Bhagavad Gita itself. Over time, the name became popular among Hindus, particularly in South India, where it was given to girls as a symbol of devotion and spiritual enlightenment.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Geetha. One such figure is Geetha Shastri (1938-2003), an Indian Carnatic vocalist and scholar who made significant contributions to the field of Carnatic music. Another prominent Geetha was Geetha Mukherjee (1925-2018), an Indian writer and novelist who is best known for her works exploring themes of female identity and the complexities of modern Indian society.
In the realm of Indian politics, Geetha Mukherjee (1914-1998) was a notable figure who served as the first female Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. She played a pivotal role in shaping India's post-independence political landscape.
Another historically significant Geetha was Geetha Narayanan (1936-2005), an Indian mathematician and computer scientist who made groundbreaking contributions to the field of theoretical computer science. Her work on algorithms and data structures laid the foundation for many modern computing technologies.
Finally, Geetha Vahini (1928-2015) was a renowned Indian classical dancer and choreographer who dedicated her life to preserving and promoting the art of Bharatanatyam, one of the oldest classical dance forms in India. She was widely recognized for her contributions to the propagation of Indian culture and heritage.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Geetha throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of Indian culture and traditions.
People
Geetha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Geetha 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
Geetha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Geetha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Geetha 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 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Geetha a common name?
We classify Geetha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 23 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Geetha most popular?
The single biggest year for Geetha was 1977, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Geetha is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Geetha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,014 people with the name Geetha, or 0.67 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,539 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 Geetha 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 Geetha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Geetha appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,011 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Geetha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Geetha is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.6%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Geetha most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Geetha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.6% (1,965 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 Geetha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Geetha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Geetha 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 Geetha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Geetha 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 Geetha 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 Geetha?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.