Neeharika
A feminine Sanskrit name meaning "a new, beautiful plant".
Name Census estimates that about 55 living Americans carry the first name Neeharika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Neeharika today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Neeharika births was 2000 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Neeharika. 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 Neeharika. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
55
~ 1 in 6,231,897 Americans
Peak year
2000
13 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2007 SSA rank
#17,003
Tracked since 1998
Census
Neeharika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 263 people with the first name Neeharika, which placed it at #32,158 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
#32,158
National first-name rank
People counted
263
263 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
93.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neeharika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neeharika is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Neeharika 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 Neeharika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander93.2% · 245
- White2.7% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 3
- Two or more races0.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.4% · 1
Popularity
Neeharika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Neeharika from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 51 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Neeharika 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 Neeharika 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 Neeharika
Neeharika is a feminine given name of Indian origin, derived from the Sanskrit language. The name is a combination of two words: "Nee" meaning "new" or "fresh," and "Harika" meaning "delightful" or "charming." Together, the name can be interpreted as "newly delightful" or "fresh and charming."
The name Neeharika has its roots in ancient Indian culture and can be traced back to the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE. During this time, the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed. While the name itself is not explicitly mentioned in the Vedas, its components can be found in various Vedic hymns and mantras.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Neeharika can be found in the Mahabharata, a revered Hindu epic dating back to around the 8th century BCE. In the epic, Neeharika is mentioned as the name of a celestial nymph or Apsara, known for her beauty and grace.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Neeharika. One of the most famous was Neeharika Devi, a 16th-century Indian poet and mystic from the region of Assam. Her literary works, written in the Brajabuli language, were deeply influenced by the Bhakti movement and celebrated the divine love for Krishna.
Another prominent figure was Neeharika Sharma, an 18th-century Indian mathematician and astronomer from the city of Jaipur. She made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and is credited with developing new methods for calculating planetary positions and eclipses.
In the realm of classical Indian dance, Neeharika Narayanan was a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer who lived in the 20th century. She played a pivotal role in popularizing and preserving this ancient dance form, both within India and internationally.
Neeharika Bhattacharya, born in 1926, was a celebrated Indian writer and social activist. Her works, primarily in Bengali, focused on women's rights and social issues, earning her numerous accolades, including the prestigious Jnanpith Award in 1974.
Lastly, Neeharika Suri was a prominent Indian television journalist and news anchor who gained widespread recognition for her coverage of major events, including the Indian general elections and the Kargil War in the late 20th century.
While the name Neeharika has its roots in ancient Indian culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and continues to be a popular choice for parents around the world, drawn to its melodious sound and the positive connotations of its meaning.
People
Neeharika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Neeharika 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
Neeharika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Neeharika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 55 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Neeharika 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 6,231,897 US residents.
Is Neeharika a common name?
We classify Neeharika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 56 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Neeharika most popular?
The single biggest year for Neeharika was 2000, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Neeharika is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Neeharika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 263 people with the name Neeharika, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,158 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 Neeharika 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 Neeharika?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Neeharika appears almost entirely female. Of the 259 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 Neeharika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neeharika is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Neeharika most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Neeharika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (245 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 Neeharika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Neeharika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Neeharika 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 Neeharika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Neeharika 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 Neeharika 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 Neeharika?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.