Hrishikesh
Lord of senses, ruler of the sensory organs in Hindu tradition.
Name Census estimates that about 90 living Americans carry the first name Hrishikesh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hrishikesh today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hrishikesh births was 2007 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hrishikesh. 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 Hrishikesh with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hrishikesh. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
90
~ 1 in 3,808,382 Americans
Peak year
2007
11 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,053
Tracked since 1999
Census
Hrishikesh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 467 people with the first name Hrishikesh, which placed it at #21,646 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
#21,646
National first-name rank
People counted
467
467 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hrishikesh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hrishikesh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.3%). 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 Hrishikesh 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 Hrishikesh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.3% · 445
- White2.6% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 6
- Two or more races0.9% · 4
Popularity
Hrishikesh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hrishikesh from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 54 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
Hrishikesh 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 Hrishikesh 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 Hrishikesh
The name Hrishikesh has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient language of the Indian subcontinent. It is a combination of two words: "hrishi," meaning senses or organs of perception, and "kesh," meaning lord or master. The name thus translates to "Lord of the Senses" or "Master of the Senses."
This name finds its roots in Hindu mythology and is closely associated with the Hindu god Vishnu. In the Hindu scriptures, particularly the Puranas, Hrishikesh is one of the many names or epithets used to refer to Lord Vishnu, who is revered as the preserver and protector of the universe.
The name Hrishikesh has been recorded in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures dating back to the early centuries of the common era. It is believed to have been used as a name for individuals since the medieval period, around the 5th to 10th centuries CE, when the practice of naming children after deities or divine attributes became more prevalent in the Indian subcontinent.
One of the earliest recorded references to an individual named Hrishikesh can be found in the writings of the famous Hindu philosopher and scholar, Adi Shankara, who lived in the 8th century CE. Shankara is said to have had a disciple named Hrishikesh, who is mentioned in his works.
Over the centuries, the name Hrishikesh has been borne by several notable figures in Indian history and culture. One example is Hrishikesh Mukherjee, a renowned Indian film director and screenwriter who lived from 1922 to 2006. He was known for directing critically acclaimed movies such as "Anari" and "Anupama."
Another notable individual with this name is Hrishikesh Dattatraya Paldikar, an Indian classical singer and music educator who lived from 1931 to 2010. He was a prominent exponent of the Khayal style of Hindustani classical music and was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honors, in 2002.
Hrishikesh Dev Sharma, born in 1925, was an Indian civil servant and diplomat who served as the Governor of several states in India, including Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
Hrishikesh Kanitkar, born in 1974, is a former Indian cricketer who played for the Indian national team and is currently a cricket coach and commentator.
Hrishikesh Hirway is an American musician, songwriter, and podcast host, best known for hosting the popular podcast "Song Exploder," where musicians deconstruct and discuss their songs.
While the name Hrishikesh has its roots in Hindu mythology and tradition, it has transcended cultural boundaries and has been adopted by individuals from various backgrounds and regions, particularly in India and among the Indian diaspora worldwide.
People
Hrishikesh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hrishikesh 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
Hrishikesh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hrishikesh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 90 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hrishikesh 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 3,808,382 US residents.
Is Hrishikesh a common name?
We classify Hrishikesh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 91 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hrishikesh most popular?
The single biggest year for Hrishikesh was 2007, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hrishikesh is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hrishikesh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 467 people with the name Hrishikesh, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,646 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 Hrishikesh 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 Hrishikesh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hrishikesh appears almost entirely male. Of the 468 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Hrishikesh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hrishikesh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.3%). 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 Hrishikesh most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Hrishikesh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.3% (445 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 Hrishikesh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hrishikesh a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hrishikesh 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 Hrishikesh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hrishikesh 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 Hrishikesh 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 Hrishikesh?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.