Moksha
A Sanskrit name meaning liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
Name Census estimates that about 286 living Americans carry the first name Moksha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Moksha today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Moksha births was 2012 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Moksha. 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
286
~ 1 in 1,198,442 Americans
Peak year
2012
28 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,301
Tracked since 2005
Popularity
Moksha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Moksha from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 181 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Moksha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Moksha 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 Moksha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mokshas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Texas recorded the most babies named Moksha, while Texas, New Jersey, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Moksha
The name Moksha originates from Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE. In Hinduism, Moksha refers to the concept of liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth, or the ultimate spiritual goal of attaining freedom from the material world.
Moksha is a term deeply rooted in the Upanishads, a collection of ancient Hindu philosophical texts that explore the nature of reality, consciousness, and the path to enlightenment. The word Moksha is derived from the Sanskrit root "mukti," which means "release" or "liberation." It represents the idea of the soul (Atman) being liberated from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (Samsara) to merge with the Supreme Brahman.
The earliest recorded use of the name Moksha can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit literature, such as the Bhagavad Gita, where it is mentioned as the ultimate goal of spiritual practice. In the Upanishads, Moksha is described as a state of absolute freedom, bliss, and self-realization achieved through the acquisition of true knowledge (Jnana) and the practice of yoga and meditation.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Moksha. One such person was Moksha Gupta (c. 9th century CE), a renowned Indian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of trigonometry. Another notable figure was Moksha Tirtha (1474-1550 CE), a Hindu philosopher and spiritual leader who established the Vallabha sect of Vaishnavism in India.
Moksha Thera (c. 3rd century BCE) was a Buddhist monk and scholar who is credited with bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa. In more recent times, Moksha Basu (1901-1958) was an Indian social worker and educator who founded the Moksha Samiti, an organization dedicated to promoting education and social welfare.
The name Moksha has also found its way into popular culture, with notable bearers including Moksha Kumari Dogra, an Indian film actress active in the 1930s, and Moksha Dil, a British singer-songwriter of Indian descent who rose to prominence in the late 2000s.
While the name Moksha has its origins in Hinduism, it has transcended religious boundaries and has been adopted by individuals from various cultural backgrounds, drawn to its profound meaning and spiritual connotations.
People
Moksha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Moksha 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
Moksha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Moksha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 286 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Moksha 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 1,198,442 US residents.
Is Moksha a common name?
We classify Moksha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 288 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Moksha most popular?
The single biggest year for Moksha was 2012, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Moksha is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Moksha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Moksha 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.