Meghna
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "cloud" or "clouded sky".
Name Census estimates that about 668 living Americans carry the first name Meghna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meghna today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meghna births was 2002 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meghna. 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 Meghna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
668
~ 1 in 513,105 Americans
Peak year
2002
42 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,993
Tracked since 1986
Census
Meghna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,477 people with the first name Meghna, which placed it at #9,405 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
#9,405
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,477 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
93.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meghna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meghna is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Meghna 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 Meghna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander93.8% · 1,385
- White2.8% · 42
- Two or more races1.6% · 24
- Black or African American0.7% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Popularity
Meghna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meghna from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 321 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meghna 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 Meghna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Meghnas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the most babies named Meghna, while Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Meghna
Meghna is a Sanskrit name with origins dating back to ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "megha," which means "cloud." The name is believed to have been in use since the Vedic period, around 1500-500 BCE.
In Hindu mythology, there are references to the name Meghna in various texts. One of the earliest mentions is in the Ramayana, an ancient Sanskrit epic. In the Ramayana, Meghna is the name of the son of the demon king Ravana, who fought against Lord Rama.
The name Meghna has also been associated with the Hindu goddess Saraswati, the deity of knowledge, music, and arts. Some believe that the name symbolizes the gentle and nurturing nature of clouds, which bring rain and sustenance to the Earth.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Meghna dates back to the 7th century CE, when a princess named Meghna was mentioned in historical texts from the Pala Empire in ancient Bengal (present-day Bangladesh and parts of India).
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Meghna. One of the most famous was Meghna Thakur (1363-1443), a medieval Bengali poet and mystic who composed devotional songs dedicated to the Hindu deity Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Another prominent figure was Meghna Guhathakurta (1897-1976), a Bengali educator and activist who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement and worked towards the empowerment of women in undivided Bengal.
In more recent times, Meghna Gulzar (born 1974) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for films like "Filhaal" and "Talvar." She is the daughter of renowned lyricist and poet Gulzar and has won several awards for her work.
Meghna Naidu (born 1980) is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who has performed extensively both in India and abroad, promoting the art of Kuchipudi dance.
Meghna Pant (born 1987) is an Indian model and actress who has appeared in various Bollywood films and television shows, gaining popularity for her roles in projects like "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" and "Lajwanti."
People
Meghna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meghna 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
Meghna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meghna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 668 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meghna 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 513,105 US residents.
Is Meghna a common name?
We classify Meghna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 679 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meghna most popular?
The single biggest year for Meghna was 2002, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meghna is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Meghna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,477 people with the name Meghna, or 0.49 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,405 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 Meghna 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 Meghna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Meghna appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,466 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 Meghna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meghna is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Meghna most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Meghna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (1,385 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 Meghna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meghna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meghna 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 Meghna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meghna 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 Meghna 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 named Meghna?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.