Muskaan
A Hindi name meaning "a sweet smile".
Name Census estimates that about 316 living Americans carry the first name Muskaan. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Muskaan today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Muskaan births was 2004 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Muskaan. 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 Muskaan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
316
~ 1 in 1,084,666 Americans
Peak year
2004
24 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2023 SSA rank
#16,835
Tracked since 1998
Census
Muskaan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 373 people with the first name Muskaan, which placed it at #25,428 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
#25,428
National first-name rank
People counted
373
373 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
91.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Muskaan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Muskaan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.1%) 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 Muskaan 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 Muskaan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander91.4% · 341
- White5.1% · 19
- Two or more races1.6% · 6
- Black or African American1.1% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 3
Popularity
Muskaan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Muskaan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 191 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
Muskaan 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 Muskaan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Muskaans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Muskaan
Muskaan is a name of Hindu origin, derived from the Sanskrit word "muskara," which means "smile." Its roots can be traced back to ancient India, where it was likely used as a descriptive term to express the joy and happiness associated with a person's smile.
The earliest recorded use of the name Muskaan can be found in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, where it was often used as a poetic metaphor to describe the beauty and radiance of a person's smile. It is believed that the name gained popularity during the medieval period in India, particularly among the upper classes and aristocracy.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Muskaan is Muskaan Bano, a 16th-century Mughal princess and the daughter of Emperor Akbar. She was known for her intelligence, beauty, and her father's affection towards her.
Another notable historical figure with the name Muskaan is Muskaan Begum, a 17th-century Mughal princess and the daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan. She was renowned for her skill in poetry and her patronage of the arts.
In the 18th century, Muskaan Noor Jahan was a prominent courtesan and poet in the court of the Nawab of Awadh. She was highly regarded for her literary contributions and her influence in the cultural circles of her time.
During the 19th century, Muskaan Begum was a notable dancer and courtesan in the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad. She was celebrated for her grace, beauty, and her mastery of the classical Indian dance forms.
In more recent times, Muskaan Malik was a 20th-century Indian actress and dancer, known for her performances in various Bollywood films and her contributions to the preservation of traditional Indian dance forms.
While the name Muskaan has its roots in Hindu culture and Sanskrit language, it has transcended cultural boundaries and is now used by people of diverse backgrounds across the globe, symbolizing the universal appeal of a radiant and joyful smile.
People
Muskaan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Muskaan 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
Muskaan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Muskaan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 316 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Muskaan 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 1,084,666 US residents.
Is Muskaan a common name?
We classify Muskaan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 320 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Muskaan most popular?
The single biggest year for Muskaan was 2004, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Muskaan is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Muskaan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 373 people with the name Muskaan, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,428 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 Muskaan 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 Muskaan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Muskaan appears almost entirely female. Of the 377 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Muskaan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Muskaan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.1%) 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 Muskaan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Muskaan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (341 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 Muskaan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Muskaan a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Muskaan 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 Muskaan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Muskaan 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 Muskaan 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 Muskaan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.