Hema
Golden, precious, or red-colored gemstone in Sanskrit.
Name Census estimates that about 159 living Americans carry the first name Hema. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hema today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hema births was 2007 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hema. 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 Hema with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
159
~ 1 in 2,155,688 Americans
Peak year
2007
10 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,057
Tracked since 1976
Census
Hema in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,320 people with the first name Hema, which placed it at #6,796 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
#6,796
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,320 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
90.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hema
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hema is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.9%. The next largest groups are White (2.4%) and Black (2.4%). 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 Hema 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 Hema at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.9% · 2,109
- White2.4% · 55
- Black or African American2.4% · 55
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 53
- Two or more races1.6% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Popularity
Hema: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hema from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 53 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hema 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 Hema during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hemas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hema
The name Hema has its origins in ancient Sanskrit, one of the oldest languages in the world. Derived from the word "hema," meaning "golden" or "golden-red," it was initially used as a descriptive term for someone with a radiant complexion or golden-hued hair.
In Hindu mythology, Hema is also the name of a renowned goddess, often depicted as the personification of the earth's golden riches and fertility. Her name is mentioned in various sacred texts, including the Puranas and the Mahabharata, further solidifying its presence in Indian culture and tradition.
The earliest recorded use of Hema as a personal name can be traced back to ancient Indian inscriptions and manuscripts dating back to the 5th century BCE. Over the centuries, the name gained widespread popularity across the Indian subcontinent, transcending regional and linguistic boundaries.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Hema was Hema Malini, an acclaimed Indian actress and politician born in 1948. Known for her elegance and versatility, she has graced the silver screen for over five decades and continues to be a revered cultural icon.
Another prominent figure was Hema Sane, an Indian social reformer and educationist born in 1914. She dedicated her life to empowering women and advocating for equal educational opportunities, leaving an indelible mark on the Indian feminist movement.
In the realm of literature, Hema Veeravalli, an Indian-American author born in 1977, has garnered critical acclaim for her works exploring themes of identity, belonging, and the immigrant experience.
Moving beyond India, Hema Upadhyay, a Nepalese mountaineer born in 1972, etched her name in history by becoming the first Nepalese woman to summit Mount Everest in 2008, inspiring countless others to reach for their dreams.
Hema Ramaswamy, an Indian-American classical dancer and choreographer born in 1970, has been instrumental in preserving and promoting the art of Bharatanatyam, a traditional Indian dance form, on the global stage.
While the name Hema has its roots in ancient Sanskrit, it has transcended cultural and geographical boundaries, becoming a symbol of grace, radiance, and achievement for those who bear it.
People
Hema + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hema 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
Hema: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hema?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 159 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hema 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 2,155,688 US residents.
Is Hema a common name?
We classify Hema as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 165 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hema most popular?
The single biggest year for Hema was 2007, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hema is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hema in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,320 people with the name Hema, or 0.77 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,796 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 Hema 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 Hema?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hema leans strongly female. 2,253 people counted with this name were female (97.4%), compared with 59 male bearers (2.6%). 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 Hema?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hema is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.9%. The next largest groups are White (2.4%) and Black (2.4%). 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 Hema most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Hema in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (2,109 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 Hema in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hema a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hema 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 Hema still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hema 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 Hema 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 common is the name Hema?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Hema at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.