Indra
Lord of rain and thunderstorms in Hindu mythology.
Name Census estimates that about 875 living Americans carry the first name Indra. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 87.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Indra today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Indra births was 2020 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Indra. 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 Indra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
875
~ 1 in 391,719 Americans
Peak year
2020
35 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,736
Tracked since 1951
Census
Indra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,105 people with the first name Indra, which placed it at #5,502 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
#5,502
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,105 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
56.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Indra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Indra is Asian/Pacific Islander at 56.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.3%) and White (11.3%). 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 Indra 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 Indra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander56.9% · 1,766
- Hispanic or Latino16.3% · 507
- White11.3% · 350
- Black or African American9.6% · 299
- Two or more races5.3% · 165
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 18
Gender
Gender distribution for Indra
Indra leans heavily female at 87.3% of total registrations, but 117 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Indra as a male name
- Ranked #5,736 in 2024
- 16 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (16 births)
Indra as a female name
- Ranked #10,559 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (28 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Indra on both sides of the split. Of the 3,102 people counted with this name, 806 were male (26.0%) and 2,296 were female (74.0%).
Popularity
Indra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Indra from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 219 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Indra remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Indra 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 Indra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Indras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Indra, while Texas, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Indra
The given name Indra has its origins in ancient Indian culture and mythology. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "indu," meaning "drop" or "moon," reflecting its association with celestial bodies and natural phenomena. The name is closely linked to the Vedic deity Indra, the king of the gods and the god of rain, thunder, and storms in Hindu mythology.
Indra is a prominent figure in the Rigveda, one of the oldest and most sacred Hindu scriptures, where he is celebrated for his heroic deeds and his ability to bring rain and fertility to the earth. The name Indra is mentioned numerous times throughout the Vedic texts, solidifying its significance in ancient Indian culture and religious traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Indra can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, where it is borne by a prominent warrior and ally of the Pandavas. In this epic, Indra is depicted as a formidable fighter and a protector of the righteous.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Indra. One of the most famous is Indra Devi (1899-2002), a renowned Russian-born yoga teacher who played a pivotal role in popularizing yoga in the West. She was instrumental in introducing yoga to Hollywood celebrities and promoting its practice globally.
Another notable bearer of the name is Indra Nooyi (born 1955), the former CEO of PepsiCo from 2006 to 2018. She was one of the few women to lead a major Fortune 500 company and was instrumental in driving PepsiCo's growth and expansion during her tenure.
In the realm of literature, Indra Sengupta (born 1972) is a celebrated Indian author and poet whose works often explore themes of identity, diaspora, and cultural integration. Her novels, such as "Invisible Maps" and "The Transformation," have garnered critical acclaim and recognition.
Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi (born 1955) is an Indian-American business executive who served as the CEO of PepsiCo from 2006 to 2018. She was one of the few women to lead a major Fortune 500 company and was instrumental in driving PepsiCo's growth and expansion during her tenure.
Indra Devi (1899-2002), also known as Eugenie Peterson, was a renowned Russian-born yoga teacher who played a pivotal role in popularizing yoga in the West. She introduced yoga to Hollywood celebrities and helped promote its practice globally, leaving a lasting impact on the spread of yoga beyond its Indian origins.
People
Indra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Indra 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
Indra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Indra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 875 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Indra 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 391,719 US residents.
Is Indra a common name?
We classify Indra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 920 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Indra most popular?
The single biggest year for Indra was 2020, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Indra is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Indra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,105 people with the name Indra, or 1.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,502 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 Indra 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 Indra?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Indra on both sides of the split. Of the 3,102 people counted with this name, 806 were male (26.0%) and 2,296 were female (74.0%). 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 Indra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Indra is Asian/Pacific Islander at 56.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.3%) and White (11.3%). 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 Indra most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Indra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.9% (1,766 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 Indra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Indra a female name?
Yes, 87.3% of people registered as Indra 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 Indra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Indra 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 Indra 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 Indra?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.