Mahari
A feminine name of Indian origin meaning "pearl" or "distinguished".
Name Census estimates that about 654 living Americans carry the first name Mahari. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 55.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Mahari today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mahari births was 2017 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mahari. 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
654
~ 1 in 524,089 Americans
Peak year
2017
46 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,803
Tracked since 1997
Gender
Gender distribution for Mahari
Mahari is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 660 total registrations, 294 (44.5%) were male and 366 (55.5%) were female.
Mahari as a male name
- Ranked #8,691 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2005 (17 births)
Mahari as a female name
- Ranked #6,803 in 2024
- 17 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (34 births)
Popularity
Mahari: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mahari 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 301 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Mahari remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mahari 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 Mahari during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maharis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Georgia, Florida, Maryland recorded the most babies named Mahari, while North Carolina, Maryland, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mahari
The name Mahari is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was the classical language of ancient India. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "maha," meaning "great" or "eminent," and the word "hari," which is a name for the Hindu god Vishnu. Thus, the name Mahari can be interpreted as "great Vishnu" or "follower of the great one."
In Hindu mythology, Vishnu is one of the principal deities, known as the Preserver or the Protector of the universe. The name Mahari may have been used to honor or express devotion to this important deity. It is possible that the name was initially given to children born on auspicious days or during festivals related to Vishnu.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mahari can be traced back to ancient Indian texts and scriptures. For example, in the Mahabharata, one of the longest epic poems in Sanskrit literature, there is a character named Mahari, who was a sage and a spiritual teacher.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mahari. One such person was Mahari Chanda (1194-1292), a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet from Bengal, India, who is credited with writing the famous literary work, Chanda Kausika.
Another prominent figure with this name was Mahari Sitaram (1663-1727), a Hindu philosopher and spiritual leader from Rajasthan, India, who contributed significantly to the Bhakti movement, a spiritual revival focused on devotional worship.
In the 16th century, Mahari Bai (1505-1582) was a prominent female Hindu mystic and poet from Rajasthan. She was known for her devotional poetry dedicated to Lord Krishna and is considered one of the most revered saints in the Bhakti tradition.
Mahari Narayana Swami (1672-1745), a renowned scholar and philosopher from South India, was also a notable figure who authored several works on Advaita Vedanta, a non-dualistic school of Hindu philosophy.
In more recent times, Mahari Jasraj (1928-2019) was a renowned Indian classical vocalist and music educator, who was awarded the prestigious Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honor, for his contributions to Hindustani classical music.
People
Mahari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mahari as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mahari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mahari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 654 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mahari 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 524,089 US residents.
Is Mahari a common name?
We classify Mahari as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 660 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mahari most popular?
The single biggest year for Mahari was 2017, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mahari is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mahari a female name?
Yes, 55.5% of people registered as Mahari 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.