Indigo
A word referring to the deep blue color of the rainbow.
Name Census estimates that about 4,753 living Americans carry the first name Indigo. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Indigo today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Indigo births was 2024 (391 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Indigo. 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
- • Indigo is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
4.8K
~ 1 in 72,113 Americans
Peak year
2024
391 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#923
Tracked since 1971
Gender
Gender distribution for Indigo
Indigo is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 4,807 total registrations, 1,107 (23.0%) were male and 3,700 (77.0%) were female.
Indigo as a male name
- Ranked #1,629 in 2024
- 104 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (118 births)
Indigo as a female name
- Ranked #923 in 2024
- 287 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (300 births)
Popularity
Indigo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Indigo from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 1,850 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Indigo 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 Indigo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Indigos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 31 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Indigo, while Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 78 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Indigo
The name Indigo is derived from the Greek word "indikon," which means "from India." It refers to the deep blue color that was extracted from the indigo plant and used as a dye. The indigo plant was cultivated in ancient India and the dye became an important trade commodity, spreading across the world through various trade routes.
Indigo as a given name first appeared in the late 19th century, likely inspired by the growing popularity of the color and its association with spirituality and creativity. The name gained traction in the 1960s during the counterculture movement, where it was embraced as a unique and unconventional name.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Indigo was in 1894, when Indigo Williams was born in the United States. However, the name remained relatively rare until the late 20th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Indigo. Indigo Girls, formed in 1985, is a Grammy-winning American folk rock duo consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. Indigo Bunting, born in 1974, is an American actress known for her roles in films such as "Scanners" and "House of the Dead."
Indigo Williams, born in 1984, is a British actress best known for her role in the television series "Babyfather." Indigo Roth, born in 1989, is a German singer and songwriter who has released several albums and singles.
Indigo Marie, born in 1986, is an American model and actress who has appeared in various television shows and films. She is also known for her advocacy work in promoting body positivity and self-love.
People
Indigo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Indigo as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Indigo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Indigo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,753 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Indigo 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 72,113 US residents.
Is Indigo a common name?
We classify Indigo as "Rare". It ranks above 96.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,807 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Indigo most popular?
The single biggest year for Indigo was 2024, when 391 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Indigo is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Indigo a female name?
Yes, 77.0% of people registered as Indigo 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.