Navika
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "sailor" or "navigator".
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the first name Navika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Navika today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Navika births was 2017 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Navika. 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 Navika with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
118
~ 1 in 2,904,698 Americans
Peak year
2017
15 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,722
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Navika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Navika 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 74 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Navika remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Navika 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 Navika 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 Navika
The given name Navika is derived from the Sanskrit language and has its roots in ancient Indian culture. The name is believed to have originated during the Vedic period, which spans from around 1500 BCE to 600 BCE.
Navika is a combination of two Sanskrit words: "nau" meaning boat or ship, and "ika" which is a feminine suffix. Thus, the name Navika can be interpreted as "the one who navigates a boat" or "the female navigator."
In the ancient Hindu texts, particularly the Vedas and the Puranas, there are references to celestial navigators known as "Navikās" who were tasked with guiding ships and travelers across vast oceans and cosmic realms. These celestial beings were revered for their wisdom, knowledge, and ability to navigate the intricate paths of the universe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Navika can be found in the "Rig Veda," one of the oldest and most sacred scriptures of Hinduism, dating back to around 1500 BCE. There, it is mentioned in hymns and prayers dedicated to the gods and goddesses of navigation and travel.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Navika:
1. Navika Sagar (born c. 1200 CE) was a renowned Indian navigator and explorer who is credited with mapping the trade routes between India and Southeast Asia during the medieval period.
2. Navika Devi (c. 1550 CE - 1620 CE) was a powerful ruler and warrior queen who led her kingdom in present-day Rajasthan, India, and was renowned for her strategic military skills and leadership.
3. Navika Sharma (1780 CE - 1840 CE) was a celebrated Indian poet and scholar who wrote extensively on the themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition.
4. Navika Gupta (1890 CE - 1972 CE) was an influential Indian educator and social reformer who played a pivotal role in establishing schools and promoting women's education in rural areas of the country.
5. Navika Arora (born 1972 CE) is a contemporary Indian journalist and news anchor, known for her work in television broadcasting and her coverage of major global events.
Throughout the ages, the name Navika has carried a sense of adventure, exploration, and a connection to the vast expanse of the oceans and the cosmos. It has been a name associated with navigation, wisdom, and the pursuit of knowledge, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of ancient India.
People
Navika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Navika 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
Navika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Navika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 118 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Navika 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 2,904,698 US residents.
Is Navika a common name?
We classify Navika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 119 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Navika most popular?
The single biggest year for Navika was 2017, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Navika is about 9 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 Navika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Navika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Navika 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 Navika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Navika 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 Navika 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 share the name Navika?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.