Nara
A feminine name derived from Sanskrit meaning "giver of knowledge".
Name Census estimates that about 936 living Americans carry the first name Nara. It is a predominantly female name (98.3% of registrations). The average person named Nara today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nara births was 2024 (72 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nara. 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 Nara with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
936
~ 1 in 366,191 Americans
Peak year
2024
72 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2013 SSA rank
#2,491
Tracked since 1909
Census
Nara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,599 people with the first name Nara, which placed it at #8,903 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
#8,903
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,599 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
41.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nara is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.0%. The next largest groups are White (29.1%) and Hispanic (16.3%). 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 Nara 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 Nara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander41.0% · 655
- White29.1% · 466
- Hispanic or Latino16.3% · 261
- Two or more races6.9% · 110
- Black or African American6.2% · 99
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Nara
Nara leans heavily female at 98.3% of total registrations, but 17 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nara as a male name
- Ranked #13,451 in 2013
- 5 male births in 2013
- Peak: 1987 (7 births)
Nara as a female name
- Ranked #2,491 in 2024
- 72 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (72 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nara leans strongly female. 1,354 people counted with this name were female (85.1%), compared with 238 male bearers (14.9%).
Popularity
Nara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nara from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 323 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nara remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nara 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 Nara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Naras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Nara, while Massachusetts, Florida, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 40 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nara
The name Nara has its origins in various ancient cultures and languages. It is believed to have derived from the Sanskrit word "nara," which means "man" or "human being." In Hindu mythology, Nara is also the name of an avatar of Lord Vishnu, representing the divine and human aspects of the deity.
Another possible origin of the name Nara can be traced back to the ancient Japanese city of Nara, which was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784 CE during the Nara period. The city was a significant center of Buddhist culture and art, and the name Nara may have been used to honor or reflect this historical significance.
In the context of Japanese culture, the name Nara can also be associated with the beautiful Nara Park, which is home to hundreds of freely roaming deer considered sacred messengers of the Shinto gods. The deer in Nara Park have become a symbol of the city and may have contributed to the popularity of the name.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Nara can be found in the 7th century CE, when a Japanese princess named Nara no Himemiko lived during the Asuka period. She was known for her patronage of Buddhism and her influence on the spread of the religion in Japan.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nara, including:
1. Nara Shikamaru (1753-1833), a Japanese samurai and martial artist known for his expertise in the Nara-ryu style of swordsmanship.
2. Nara Singde (1655-1714), a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and scholar who played a crucial role in the revival of the Nyingma tradition in Tibet.
3. Nara Vira (1349-1422), an Indian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of trigonometry and planetary movements.
4. Nara Chandrababu Naidu (born 1950), an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, known for his economic reforms and efforts to promote technology in the state.
5. Nara Yoshitomo (1819-1880), a Japanese samurai and statesman who played a pivotal role in the Meiji Restoration, which ended the Tokugawa shogunate and restored imperial rule in Japan.
The name Nara has been used across various cultures and time periods, carrying diverse meanings and associations. Its historical roots and connections to ancient civilizations, religious traditions, and notable figures have contributed to the enduring appeal and significance of this name.
People
Nara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nara as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 936 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nara 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 366,191 US residents.
Is Nara a common name?
We classify Nara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 997 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nara most popular?
The single biggest year for Nara was 2024, when 72 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nara is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,599 people with the name Nara, or 0.53 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,903 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 Nara 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 Nara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nara leans strongly female. 1,354 people counted with this name were female (85.1%), compared with 238 male bearers (14.9%). 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 Nara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nara is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.0%. The next largest groups are White (29.1%) and Hispanic (16.3%). 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 Nara most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Nara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.0% (655 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 Nara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nara a female name?
Yes, 98.3% of people registered as Nara 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 Nara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nara 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 Nara 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 called Nara?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.