Navina
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "new" or "modern".
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the first name Navina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Navina today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Navina births was 2011 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Navina. 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 Navina with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
116
~ 1 in 2,954,779 Americans
Peak year
2011
14 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,877
Tracked since 2002
Census
Navina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 191 people with the first name Navina, which placed it at #39,504 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
#39,504
National first-name rank
People counted
191
191 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
39.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Navina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Navina is Asian/Pacific Islander at 39.3%. The next largest groups are White (21.5%) and Hispanic (19.9%). 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 Navina 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 Navina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander39.3% · 75
- White21.5% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino19.9% · 38
- Black or African American13.6% · 26
- Two or more races5.8% · 11
Popularity
Navina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Navina 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 84 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Navina 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 Navina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Navinas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Navina
The name Navina is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient classical language of the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "nava," meaning "new" or "fresh," and "ina," which is a diminutive suffix used to form affectionate or diminutive names.
In Hindu mythology, the name Navina is sometimes associated with the goddess Lakshmi, who is the embodiment of beauty, prosperity, and wealth. The name is thought to represent qualities such as newness, freshness, and renewal, making it a popular choice for baby names in various parts of South Asia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Navina can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, where it is mentioned as the name of a character. However, the specific details of this character and their significance are not widely known.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Navina. One such person was Navina Sundaram (1928-2018), an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who was renowned for her contributions to the Bharatanatyam dance form. She was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, in 1976.
Another famous Navina was Navina Najat Haidar (born 1976), an Afghan-American artist and educator known for her work in promoting women's rights and empowerment through art. She has received numerous accolades for her efforts, including the prestigious Fulbright Scholar award.
In the field of literature, Navina Sundaram (born 1953) is a renowned Indian writer and translator who has authored several books and received multiple literary awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2008.
Navina Bole (born 1961) is a notable Indian classical singer and exponent of the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana, a prominent musical lineage in Hindustani classical music. She has been awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honor, for her contributions to the field of music.
Lastly, Navina Khanna (born 1988) is a British Indian activist and social entrepreneur who has been recognized for her work in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment. She was named one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2017 and has received several other awards for her advocacy efforts.
People
Navina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Navina 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
Navina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Navina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 116 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Navina 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 2,954,779 US residents.
Is Navina a common name?
We classify Navina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 117 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Navina most popular?
The single biggest year for Navina was 2011, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Navina is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Navina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 191 people with the name Navina, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,504 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 Navina 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 Navina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Navina appears almost entirely female. Of the 187 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 Navina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Navina is Asian/Pacific Islander at 39.3%. The next largest groups are White (21.5%) and Hispanic (19.9%). 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 Navina most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Navina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.3% (75 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 Navina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Navina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Navina 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 Navina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Navina 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 Navina 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 common is the name Navina?
See how many people share the name Navina on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.