Narayani
A feminine name of Hindu origin meaning "devotee of Narayana (Supreme Being)".
Name Census estimates that about 40 living Americans carry the first name Narayani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Narayani today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Narayani births was 2019 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Narayani. 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 Narayani. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
40
~ 1 in 8,568,858 Americans
Peak year
2019
8 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,711
Tracked since 2008
Census
Narayani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 192 people with the first name Narayani, which placed it at #39,369 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
#39,369
National first-name rank
People counted
192
192 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
79.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Narayani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Narayani is Asian/Pacific Islander at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.3%) and White (5.7%). 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 Narayani 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 Narayani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander79.2% · 152
- Hispanic or Latino8.3% · 16
- White5.7% · 11
- Two or more races4.7% · 9
- Black or African American1.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Narayani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Narayani 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 24 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Narayani remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Narayani 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 Narayani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Narayani
The name Narayani is of Hindu origin and has its roots in the Sanskrit language. It is a feminine name derived from the Sanskrit word "Narayana," which is a name and epithet of the Hindu god Vishnu.
Narayana is a combination of two Sanskrit words: "Nara," meaning human or divine being, and "Ayana," meaning abode or resting place. Thus, Narayani can be interpreted as "the one who resides in or is the abode of divine beings or humans."
The name Narayani is closely associated with Hindu mythology and religious texts. It is mentioned in the Puranas, a vast collection of ancient Hindu scriptures, as one of the many names and forms of the goddess Lakshmi, who is the consort of Lord Vishnu.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Narayani can be found in the Vishnu Purana, an ancient Hindu text that dates back to around the 5th century CE. In this text, Narayani is described as an embodiment of the goddess Lakshmi, who is celebrated for her beauty, wealth, and auspiciousness.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Narayani. One such figure is Narayani Devi (1925-2009), an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who was a prominent figure in the Bharatanatyam dance tradition. She was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, in 1975.
Another notable Narayani was Narayani Amma (1909-1987), an Indian poet and social activist from Kerala. She was known for her works that addressed social issues and advocated for the empowerment of women. Her poetry collection, "Baalyakaalasakhi," is widely celebrated in Malayalam literature.
In the field of politics, Narayani Devi (1876-1948) was a prominent Indian freedom fighter and social reformer from Uttar Pradesh. She actively participated in the Indian independence movement and worked towards the upliftment of women and the abolition of social evils like child marriage and the practice of sati.
Narayani Gupta (1925-2019) was an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who specialized in the Kathak dance form. She was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honors, in 1975 for her contributions to the field of dance.
Narayani Menon (1925-2013) was an Indian classical singer and musician from Kerala. She was renowned for her expertise in the Carnatic music tradition and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2009 for her contributions to the field of music.
People
Narayani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Narayani 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
Narayani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Narayani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 40 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Narayani 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 8,568,858 US residents.
Is Narayani a common name?
We classify Narayani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 40 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Narayani most popular?
The single biggest year for Narayani was 2019, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Narayani is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Narayani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 192 people with the name Narayani, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,369 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 Narayani 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 Narayani?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Narayani appears almost entirely female. Of the 184 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 Narayani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Narayani is Asian/Pacific Islander at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.3%) and White (5.7%). 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 Narayani most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Narayani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.2% (152 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 Narayani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Narayani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Narayani 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 Narayani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Narayani 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 Narayani 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 share the name Narayani?
Want to know how many Americans are named Narayani? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.