Mukunda
A Sanskrit name meaning "giver of liberation" or "one who frees".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Mukunda. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mukunda today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mukunda births was 2015 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mukunda. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Mukunda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2015
5 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2015 SSA rank
#13,423
Tracked since 2015
Popularity
Mukunda: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Mukunda 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 Mukunda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Mukunda
The name Mukunda is a Sanskrit name derived from the words "muk" meaning "liberation" and "unda" meaning "bestowing". It originated in ancient India and is closely associated with Hindu culture and traditions.
The earliest recorded reference to the name Mukunda can be found in the Hindu sacred texts, particularly the Bhagavad Gita. In the Gita, Mukunda is one of the many names used to address Lord Krishna, the principal deity of the Vaishnava tradition within Hinduism. It is believed that the name signifies Krishna as the giver of liberation or freedom from the cycle of birth and death.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Mukunda was Mukunda Deva, a 16th-century philosopher and writer from Bengal. He was a prominent follower of the Vaishnava tradition and authored several works on devotional poetry and philosophy.
In the 18th century, Mukunda Rama Chakravarti, a Bengali philosopher and writer, made significant contributions to the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. He was a disciple of the renowned spiritual leader Vishvanatha Chakravarti and wrote extensively on Vaishnava theology and practices.
Another notable figure was Mukunda Lal Burman, a 19th-century Bengali writer and social reformer. He was a prominent figure in the Bengal Renaissance and played a significant role in promoting education and social reforms, particularly in the areas of women's rights and abolition of the dowry system.
In more recent times, Mukunda Behari Mallick, an Indian lawyer and politician, served as the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and later became the Governor of Orissa (now Odisha) in the 1950s.
Mukunda Lal Ghosh, born in 1923, was a renowned Indian artist and sculptor. He is best known for his sculptures and murals depicting scenes from Indian mythology and folklore, many of which can be found in public spaces across India.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Mukunda throughout history, showcasing its deep roots in Indian culture and its association with literary, philosophical, and artistic traditions.
People
Mukunda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mukunda 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
Mukunda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mukunda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mukunda 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Mukunda a common name?
We classify Mukunda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mukunda most popular?
The single biggest year for Mukunda was 2015, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mukunda is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Mukunda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mukunda a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mukunda in the SSA data are male. 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 Mukunda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mukunda 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 Mukunda 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Mukunda?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Mukunda at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.