Karishma
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "miracle" or "supernatural phenomenon".
Name Census estimates that about 1,029 living Americans carry the first name Karishma. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Karishma today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karishma births was 1994 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karishma. 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 Karishma with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 333,095 Americans
Peak year
1994
54 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,150
Tracked since 1981
Census
Karishma in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,724 people with the first name Karishma, which placed it at #8,411 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
#8,411
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,724 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
81.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karishma
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karishma is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Karishma 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 Karishma at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander81.6% · 1,407
- Black or African American6.4% · 111
- Two or more races4.8% · 83
- White3.4% · 58
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 9
Popularity
Karishma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karishma from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 408 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karishma 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 Karishma during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karishmas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, New York, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Karishma, while Illinois, Texas, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Karishma
The name Karishma has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that originated in the Indian subcontinent around the 2nd millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "karismā," which means "grace," "splendor," or "charisma."
In Hinduism, the name Karishma is often associated with the concept of divine grace or blessings bestowed upon an individual by the deities. It is believed to be a name that carries positive energy and is thought to bring good fortune to the bearer.
The earliest recorded use of the name Karishma dates back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Puranas. However, it was not until the 20th century that the name gained widespread popularity, particularly in India and among the Indian diaspora.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Karishma was Karishma Kapoor, an Indian actress who was born in 1974. She made her debut in the Bollywood film industry in the early 1990s and went on to become a successful and influential figure in Indian cinema.
Another notable individual with the name Karishma is Karishma Manandhar, a Nepali actress and model who has appeared in numerous Nepali films and television shows. She was born in 1986 and has been active in the entertainment industry since the early 2000s.
In the field of sports, Karishma Arora is a former Indian badminton player who represented India in various international tournaments. She was born in 1988 and has won several titles throughout her career.
Karishma Chandan is an Indian fashion designer and entrepreneur who founded the clothing brand "Karishma Creations" in 2012. She has been recognized for her innovative designs and contributions to the fashion industry.
Lastly, Karishma Singh is an Indian writer and journalist who has authored several books and articles on various topics, including gender issues, social justice, and human rights. She was born in 1981 and has received numerous awards and accolades for her work.
People
Karishma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karishma as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Karishma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karishma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,029 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karishma 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 333,095 US residents.
Is Karishma a common name?
We classify Karishma as "Rare". It ranks above 90.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,054 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karishma most popular?
The single biggest year for Karishma was 1994, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karishma is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karishma in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,724 people with the name Karishma, or 0.57 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,411 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 Karishma 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 Karishma?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karishma appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,716 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Karishma?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karishma is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Karishma most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Karishma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.6% (1,407 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 Karishma in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karishma a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karishma 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 Karishma still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karishma 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 Karishma 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 Karishma?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.