Hanish
A name of Sanskrit origin meaning "bright" or "shining".
Name Census estimates that about 100 living Americans carry the first name Hanish. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hanish today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hanish births was 2016 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hanish. 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 Hanish with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
100
~ 1 in 3,427,543 Americans
Peak year
2016
13 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,921
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Hanish: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hanish from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 70 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hanish remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hanish 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 Hanish 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 Hanish
The name Hanish is of ancient Persian origin, dating back to the 6th century BCE. It is derived from the Old Persian word 'Hana', meaning 'joy' or 'happiness'. The earliest known reference to the name can be found in the inscriptions of the Achaemenid Empire, where it was used as a personal name by members of the nobility.
In the following centuries, the name Hanish gained popularity in the Middle East and Central Asia. It was particularly common among the Persian-speaking communities of present-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. During the Islamic Golden Age, several notable scholars and poets bore this name, including Hanish al-Balkhi, a 10th-century Persian poet and philosopher (920-976 CE).
As the Persian cultural influence spread across the region, the name Hanish also found its way into other languages and cultures. In the Indian subcontinent, it was adopted by Muslim communities, and variations of the name, such as 'Haanish' and 'Haneesh', became popular among certain ethnic groups.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hanish in the Indian subcontinent can be found in the chronicles of the Delhi Sultanate, where it was mentioned as the name of a prominent courtier during the reign of Sultan Iltutmish (1211-1236 CE). Another notable bearer of the name was Hanish Khan, a 16th-century military commander who served under the Mughal Emperor Akbar (1542-1605 CE).
In more recent history, the name Hanish has been borne by several influential figures. Hanish Qureshi (1919-1988) was a renowned Pakistani playwright and writer, known for his contributions to the Urdu literature. Hanish Khurmi (born 1936) is a celebrated Indian actor and director, who has worked extensively in both Hindi and Urdu cinema.
Other notable individuals with the name Hanish include Hanish Naicker (born 1970), a South African cricketer who played for the national team in the 1990s, and Hanish Bahl (born 1972), an Indian fashion designer and entrepreneur.
People
Hanish + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hanish as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hanish: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hanish?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 100 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hanish 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 3,427,543 US residents.
Is Hanish a common name?
We classify Hanish as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 101 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hanish most popular?
The single biggest year for Hanish was 2016, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hanish is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Hanish in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hanish a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hanish 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 Hanish still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hanish 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 Hanish 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Hanish?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Hanish at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.