Lalita
A feminine Sanskrit name meaning beautiful, charming, or elegant.
Name Census estimates that about 711 living Americans carry the first name Lalita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lalita today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lalita births was 1979 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lalita. 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.
People living today
711
~ 1 in 482,074 Americans
Peak year
1979
32 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2023 SSA rank
#14,371
Tracked since 1947
Popularity
Lalita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lalita from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 187 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lalita 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 Lalita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lalitas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lalita
The name Lalita originates from Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the root for many modern Indian languages. Its origins can be traced back to the 2nd millennium BCE in the Indian subcontinent. The name Lalita is derived from the Sanskrit word "lalita," which means "delicate," "charming," or "graceful."
In Hindu mythology, Lalita is one of the names of the Mother Goddess or Divine Mother, known as Lalita-Tripura-Sundari. She is revered as the ultimate reality and the embodiment of beauty, grace, and divine love. The Lalita Sahasranama, a sacred text composed around the 6th century CE, contains a thousand names of the Goddess Lalita, each describing her various attributes and forms.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lalita can be found in the ancient Indian text, the Markandeya Purana, which dates back to around the 4th century CE. This text describes the Supreme Goddess Lalita and her various manifestations.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Lalita. One of the most famous was Lalita Prasad Vidyarthi (1874-1965), an Indian social reformer, educator, and writer who advocated for women's education and rights in the early 20th century.
Another prominent figure was Lalita Pawar (1916-1998), an acclaimed Indian actress who appeared in over 700 films and is considered one of the greatest character actresses in the history of Indian cinema.
In the field of literature, Lalita Mukherjee (1926-2010) was a renowned Bengali novelist and short story writer who received numerous awards, including the Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary honor.
In the world of dance, Lalita Shastri (1920-2010) was a renowned Kathak dancer and choreographer who played a significant role in popularizing the classical Indian dance form both in India and abroad.
Lalita Babar (1926-2014) was a prominent Indian social activist and trade unionist who fought for the rights of workers and women in the textile industry in Mumbai.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Lalita throughout history, reflecting its deep-rooted cultural significance and connection to Indian heritage and mythology.
People
Lalita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lalita as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lalita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lalita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 711 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lalita 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 482,074 US residents.
Is Lalita a common name?
We classify Lalita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 781 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lalita most popular?
The single biggest year for Lalita was 1979, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lalita is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lalita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lalita 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.