Nishan
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "emblem" or "sign".
Name Census estimates that about 353 living Americans carry the first name Nishan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nishan today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nishan births was 2010 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nishan. 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 Nishan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
353
~ 1 in 970,975 Americans
Peak year
2010
20 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,494
Tracked since 1924
Census
Nishan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 790 people with the first name Nishan, which placed it at #14,793 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
#14,793
National first-name rank
People counted
790
790 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
62.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nishan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nishan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.5%. The next largest groups are White (23.9%) and Black (7.1%). 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 Nishan 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 Nishan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander62.5% · 494
- White23.9% · 189
- Black or African American7.1% · 56
- Two or more races4.3% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 4
Popularity
Nishan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nishan from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 127 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nishan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nishan 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 Nishan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nishans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nishan
The name Nishan has its origins in the Persian language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Persian word "nishān," which means "sign," "mark," or "emblem." The name was commonly used in regions where Persian culture and influence were prevalent, such as modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nishan can be found in the Shahnameh, the epic Persian poem composed by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. The name appears in various historical texts and records from the region, indicating its widespread use during the medieval period.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Nishan. One of the earliest recorded individuals was Nishan-e Raz (1163-1256), a Persian Sufi poet and mystic who lived during the Seljuk Empire. His poetry and writings were highly influential in the development of Persian mystical literature.
Another prominent figure was Nishan Khanjar (1334-1404), a renowned Persian calligrapher and artist who served under the Timurid Empire. His works are celebrated for their exquisite beauty and mastery of the art of calligraphy.
In the 16th century, Nishan Sher Khan (1520-1579) was a notable military commander and ruler who served under the Mughal Empire in India. He played a significant role in the expansion and consolidation of Mughal power in the region.
During the 19th century, Nishan Singh (1832-1894) was a prominent Sikh warrior and military leader who fought against the British East India Company in the Anglo-Sikh Wars. He is revered for his bravery and dedication to the Sikh cause.
In more recent times, Nishan Bhumitra (1925-2019) was a renowned Indian actor and playwright who made significant contributions to the Marathi theatre and film industry. He was widely acclaimed for his performances and received numerous awards and accolades throughout his career.
While the name Nishan has deep roots in Persian culture and history, it has also gained popularity in various regions and cultures over time, transcending its original linguistic and geographic boundaries.
People
Nishan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nishan 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
Nishan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nishan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 353 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nishan 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 970,975 US residents.
Is Nishan a common name?
We classify Nishan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 365 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nishan most popular?
The single biggest year for Nishan was 2010, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nishan 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 Nishan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 790 people with the name Nishan, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,793 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 Nishan 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 Nishan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nishan leans strongly male. 748 people counted with this name were male (94.6%), compared with 43 female bearers (5.4%). 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 Nishan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nishan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.5%. The next largest groups are White (23.9%) and Black (7.1%). 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 Nishan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Nishan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.5% (494 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 Nishan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nishan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nishan in the SSA data are male. 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 Nishan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nishan 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 Nishan 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 have Nishan as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Nishan, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.