Mohini
Feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "bewitching", "alluring", or "fascinating".
Name Census estimates that about 154 living Americans carry the first name Mohini. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mohini today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mohini births was 1996 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mohini. 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 Mohini with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
154
~ 1 in 2,225,678 Americans
Peak year
1996
14 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,852
Tracked since 1978
Census
Mohini in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 845 people with the first name Mohini, which placed it at #14,062 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
#14,062
National first-name rank
People counted
845
845 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
88.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mohini
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mohini is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Black (3.7%). 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 Mohini 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 Mohini at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander88.8% · 750
- White3.9% · 33
- Black or African American3.7% · 31
- Two or more races1.9% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 6
Popularity
Mohini: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mohini from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 75 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
Mohini 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 Mohini during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mohinis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mohini
The name Mohini has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the root for many modern South Asian languages. It is derived from the Sanskrit word 'mohan,' which means 'to enchant' or 'to bewitch.' The name is believed to have emerged in ancient Hindu mythology, where it was associated with the enchanting feminine form assumed by the Hindu deity Vishnu.
The earliest recorded reference to the name Mohini can be found in the Bhagavata Purana, an important Hindu scripture composed around the 9th century CE. In this text, Mohini is described as the captivating female form taken by Vishnu to deceive and defeat the asuras (demons) and retrieve the nectar of immortality. This mythological tale has been retold and depicted in various literary works, sculptures, and paintings throughout Indian history.
One of the earliest known historical figures bearing the name Mohini was Mohini Devi, a queen consort of the Rajput kingdom of Marwar (present-day Rajasthan, India) in the 15th century. She was renowned for her beauty, intellect, and patronage of the arts and literature.
Another notable figure was Mohini Bai, a talented Indian classical dancer and courtesan who lived in the 19th century. She was widely celebrated for her mastery of the Kathak dance form and her performances at the court of the Nawab of Awadh (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India).
In the realm of Indian literature, one of the most famous individuals named Mohini was Mohini Chatterjee, a Bengali writer and social reformer who lived from 1840 to 1906. She was a pioneering figure in the Bengali Renaissance and fought for women's education and social reforms.
The name Mohini also gained prominence in the field of Indian classical music with Mohini Kaul, a renowned Hindustani classical vocalist who lived from 1912 to 1991. She was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, for her contributions to music.
Mohini Giri was another notable figure who bore this name. She was a prominent Indian freedom fighter and social activist who participated in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule in the early 20th century.
While the name Mohini has its roots in Hindu mythology and ancient Sanskrit literature, it has been embraced across various cultures and communities in South Asia and beyond, transcending religious and linguistic boundaries. The name's association with beauty, charm, and enchantment has contributed to its enduring popularity over centuries.
People
Mohini + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mohini 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
Mohini: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mohini?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 154 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mohini 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 2,225,678 US residents.
Is Mohini a common name?
We classify Mohini as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 158 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mohini most popular?
The single biggest year for Mohini was 1996, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mohini is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mohini in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 845 people with the name Mohini, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,062 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 Mohini 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 Mohini?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mohini appears almost entirely female. Of the 842 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 Mohini?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mohini is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.8%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Black (3.7%). 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 Mohini most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mohini in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.8% (750 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 Mohini in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mohini a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mohini 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 Mohini still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mohini 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 Mohini 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 have Mohini as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.