Isana
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "steadfast" or "bold woman".
Name Census estimates that about 45 living Americans carry the first name Isana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Isana today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Isana births was 2022 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Isana. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Isana. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
45
~ 1 in 7,616,763 Americans
Peak year
2022
9 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2022 SSA rank
#10,705
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Isana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Isana from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 23 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Isana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Isana 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 Isana 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 Isana
The name Isana has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages that originated in ancient India. It is believed to have derived from the Sanskrit word "Ishana," which means "the ruler" or "the lord." The name Isana is typically associated with Hindu mythology and culture.
In Hindu mythology, Ishana is one of the names used to refer to Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and transformation. This name is often found in ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, such as the Upanishads and the Puranas, where Lord Shiva is praised and worshipped under various names, including Ishana.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Isana can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts and inscriptions dating back to the 3rd century BCE. One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Isana was an Indian philosopher and scholar named Isana Shridhara, who lived in the 8th century CE and authored several works on Hindu philosophy and spirituality.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Isana. One such individual was Isana Nagara (1054-1142), a Hindu philosopher and poet from the Chola dynasty in South India. He was renowned for his works on Advaita Vedanta, a school of Hindu philosophy.
Another famous Isana was Isana Deva (1170-1233), a Hindu mystic and saint from the Nath tradition, who is known for his spiritual teachings and contributions to the Bhakti movement, a devotional movement in Hindu philosophy.
In the 16th century, there was a renowned Hindu scholar and poet named Isana Deva Sarma (1520-1590), who hailed from the Vijayanagara Empire in South India. He was a prolific writer and composed several works on Hindu philosophy, religion, and literature.
Isana Thera (1825-1905) was a renowned Buddhist monk and scholar from Sri Lanka, who played a significant role in the revival of Buddhism in the country. He was known for his translations of Buddhist texts from Pali to Sinhala and his efforts in promoting Buddhist education.
While the name Isana has its origins in the Hindu tradition, it has been adopted and used across various cultures and regions over the centuries, particularly in South Asia and Southeast Asia, where Hindu and Buddhist influences have been prominent.
People
Isana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Isana 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
Isana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Isana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 45 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Isana 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 7,616,763 US residents.
Is Isana a common name?
We classify Isana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 52.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 45 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Isana most popular?
The single biggest year for Isana was 2022, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Isana is about 9 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 Isana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Isana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Isana 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 Isana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Isana 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 Isana 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 people share the name Isana?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.