Nikitha
Beautiful or cheerful in Sanskrit.
Name Census estimates that about 286 living Americans carry the first name Nikitha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nikitha today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nikitha births was 2009 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nikitha. 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 Nikitha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
286
~ 1 in 1,198,442 Americans
Peak year
2009
23 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2020 SSA rank
#14,640
Tracked since 1995
Census
Nikitha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 641 people with the first name Nikitha, which placed it at #17,282 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
#17,282
National first-name rank
People counted
641
641 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
90.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nikitha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nikitha is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.7%) and White (3.1%). 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 Nikitha 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 Nikitha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.6% · 581
- Black or African American4.7% · 30
- White3.1% · 20
- Two or more races0.8% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 1
Popularity
Nikitha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nikitha from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 163 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nikitha 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 Nikitha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nikithas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nikitha
Nikitha is a feminine given name of Indian origin, derived from the Sanskrit word "nikita," which means "praised" or "celebrated." The name has its roots in ancient Hindu scriptures and mythology.
This name gained popularity in South India, particularly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It is believed to have been in use since the 6th century AD, during the reign of the Chalukya dynasty in the Deccan region of India.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nikitha can be found in the Ramayana, an ancient Hindu epic poem. In the text, Nikitha is mentioned as the name of a celestial nymph or apsara, known for her beauty and grace.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nikitha. One of the most famous was Nikitha Devi (1335-1399), a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet from the Vijayanagara Empire. Her literary works, including the treatise "Nikitha Sarvasvam," were widely celebrated during her lifetime.
Another prominent figure with this name was Nikitha Bai (1778-1857), a courtesan and poet from the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Her poetry, written in Telugu and Urdu, explored themes of love, longing, and the human experience.
In the 20th century, Nikitha Narayana (1916-1991) was a celebrated Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She was instrumental in popularizing the Kuchipudi dance form and received several prestigious awards for her contributions to the arts.
Nikitha Sharma (1938-2018) was a renowned Indian classical vocalist and Padma Shri awardee. She was known for her mastery of the Khayal genre and her collaborations with eminent musicians of her time.
Nikitha Vijay (born 1985) is a contemporary Indian film actress and model who has appeared in various Tamil and Telugu language movies. Her performance in the film "Naanu Nanna Kannada Prema Kadha" garnered critical acclaim.
The name Nikitha continues to be popular in India, particularly in the Southern states, where it is often bestowed upon newborn girls as a symbol of celebration and appreciation.
People
Nikitha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nikitha 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
Nikitha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nikitha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 286 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nikitha 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 1,198,442 US residents.
Is Nikitha a common name?
We classify Nikitha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 290 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nikitha most popular?
The single biggest year for Nikitha was 2009, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nikitha is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nikitha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 641 people with the name Nikitha, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,282 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 Nikitha 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 Nikitha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nikitha appears almost entirely female. Of the 643 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Nikitha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nikitha is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.7%) and White (3.1%). 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 Nikitha most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Nikitha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (581 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 Nikitha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nikitha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nikitha 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 Nikitha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nikitha 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 Nikitha 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 Nikitha?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.