Ishara
A feminine name of Indian origin meaning "sign" or "signal".
Name Census estimates that about 81 living Americans carry the first name Ishara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ishara today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ishara births was 1991 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ishara. 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 Ishara. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
81
~ 1 in 4,231,535 Americans
Peak year
1991
9 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2023 SSA rank
#16,108
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Ishara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ishara from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 31 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Ishara remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ishara 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 Ishara 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 Ishara
The name Ishara is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient language of India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "ishara" which means "gesture" or "sign." The name is thought to have emerged in the Indian subcontinent during the ancient Vedic period, which spans from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
Ishara was a popular name among the Hindu community, and it is mentioned in several ancient Hindu texts and scriptures. In the Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic poem, there is a character named Ishara who is described as a skilled archer and warrior. The name is also found in the Puranas, which are ancient Hindu texts that detail the history and mythology of the Indian subcontinent.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ishara can be found in the inscriptions of the Gupta Empire, which ruled over parts of present-day India and Pakistan from around the 4th to the 6th century CE. There are records of individuals with the name Ishara who held important positions during this time period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Ishara. One of the most famous was Ishara Devi, a Hindu queen who ruled over the Pratihara Empire in present-day Rajasthan, India, during the 9th century CE. She was known for her military prowess and her patronage of the arts and literature.
Another notable figure was Ishara Chandra Vidyasagar, a Bengali philosopher, educator, and social reformer who lived in the 19th century (1820-1891). He played a significant role in the renaissance of Bengal and advocated for the education of women and the abolition of certain social evils.
In the field of music, there was Ishara Devayani, an Indian classical vocalist who specialized in the Dhrupad style of singing. She lived in the 18th century and was known for her mastery of this ancient form of music.
Ishara Jayasinghe was a Sri Lankan politician and diplomat who served as the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka from 1994 to 2000. He played a crucial role in the peace process between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers during the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Lastly, Ishara Aamir Khan was a Pakistani writer and poet who lived in the 20th century (1915-1994). He was known for his contributions to the Urdu language and literature, and his works often explored themes of love, spirituality, and social justice.
People
Ishara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ishara 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
Ishara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ishara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 81 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ishara 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 4,231,535 US residents.
Is Ishara a common name?
We classify Ishara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 83 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ishara most popular?
The single biggest year for Ishara was 1991, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ishara is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ishara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ishara 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.