Ishana
Originated as a Sanskrit name with the meaning "ruler of the universe".
Name Census estimates that about 391 living Americans carry the first name Ishana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ishana today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ishana births was 2010 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ishana. 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 Ishana with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
391
~ 1 in 876,610 Americans
Peak year
2010
27 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,032
Tracked since 1999
Census
Ishana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 359 people with the first name Ishana, which placed it at #26,116 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
#26,116
National first-name rank
People counted
359
359 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
77.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ishana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ishana is Asian/Pacific Islander at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Black (11.7%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). 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 Ishana 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 Ishana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander77.4% · 278
- Black or African American11.7% · 42
- Two or more races6.1% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 9
- White1.7% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Ishana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ishana from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 211 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ishana 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 Ishana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ishanas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ishana
The name Ishana has its roots in the ancient Sanskrit language of India. It is believed to have originated sometime around the 5th century BCE, during the Vedic period of Indian history.
Ishana is a combination of two Sanskrit words: "ish" meaning "lord" or "master," and "ana" meaning "breath" or "life force." Therefore, the name can be interpreted as "the lord of life" or "the master of the life force."
In Hindu mythology, Ishana is one of the names used to refer to the powerful god Shiva, who is revered as the supreme deity and the source of all creation, destruction, and renewal. The name is mentioned in several ancient Hindu scriptures, including the Upanishads and the Puranas.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Ishana can be found in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, a philosophical text dating back to around the 5th century BCE. In this text, Ishana is described as the ultimate reality, the source of all existence, and the embodiment of consciousness.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Ishana. One of the most famous was Ishana Narayana, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and philosopher who lived in the 9th century CE. He was known for his commentaries on various Hindu scriptures and his contributions to the field of Advaita Vedanta philosophy.
Another notable figure was Ishana Devi, a prominent female mystic and saint from the 16th century CE. She was revered for her spiritual teachings and her devotion to the goddess Kali. Her life and teachings were documented in the hagiographic work "Ishana Mangala."
In the realm of literature, Ishana Dutta was a celebrated Bengali poet and playwright who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works, which often explored themes of social reform and cultural identity, had a significant impact on the Bengali literary renaissance.
Moving to more recent times, Ishana Munindra was a renowned Indian musician and exponent of the Hindustani classical music tradition. Born in 1923, he was widely acclaimed for his mastery of the sitar and his innovative approach to music.
Finally, Ishana Arora is a contemporary Indian author and screenwriter, known for her critically acclaimed novels and her work in the Indian film industry. Born in 1982, she has received numerous awards and accolades for her literary contributions.
People
Ishana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ishana 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
Ishana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ishana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 391 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ishana 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 876,610 US residents.
Is Ishana a common name?
We classify Ishana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 395 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ishana most popular?
The single biggest year for Ishana was 2010, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ishana is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ishana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 359 people with the name Ishana, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,116 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 Ishana 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 Ishana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ishana appears almost entirely female. Of the 372 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Ishana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ishana is Asian/Pacific Islander at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Black (11.7%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). 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 Ishana most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ishana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.4% (278 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 Ishana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ishana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ishana 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 Ishana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ishana 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 Ishana 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 have the name Ishana?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.