Nishith
An uncommon Hindu name derived from the Sanskrit word "nish" meaning night.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Nishith. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nishith today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nishith births was 2007 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nishith. 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 Nishith. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2007
5 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2007 SSA rank
#13,838
Tracked since 2007
Census
Nishith in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 229 people with the first name Nishith, which placed it at #35,223 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
#35,223
National first-name rank
People counted
229
229 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nishith
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nishith is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.7%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Nishith 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 Nishith at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.5% · 221
- White1.7% · 4
- Two or more races0.9% · 2
- Black or African American0.4% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Nishith: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Nishith 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 Nishith during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Nishith
The name Nishith originates from the Sanskrit language, the ancient and classical language of the Indian subcontinent, with roots that can be traced back to the 2nd millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "nishitha," which means "unwavering" or "steadfast."
In its earliest known usage, the name Nishith was often associated with Hindu deities and mythological characters who embodied qualities of determination, perseverance, and unwavering faith. It was a popular name among the Brahmin caste, who were the highest social class in the ancient Hindu society and responsible for preserving religious texts and traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nishith can be found in the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, which dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In this epic, Nishith was the name of a sage known for his profound wisdom and spiritual enlightenment.
Over the centuries, the name Nishith has been borne by several notable individuals throughout the Indian subcontinent. For example, Nishith Desai (1924-2010) was an eminent Indian lawyer and jurist who served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India from 1991 to 1993.
Another prominent figure with this name was Nishith Narayen (1917-2000), an Indian scholar and educationist who made significant contributions to the field of Sanskrit literature and philosophy. He was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honor, in 1991 for his exceptional achievements.
In the realm of literature, Nishith Mehta (1931-2018) was a renowned Indian writer and poet who wrote extensively in both Gujarati and English. His works explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, earning him numerous accolades, including the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1982.
Moving to the field of music, Nishith Narayn (born 1931) is a celebrated Indian classical vocalist and exponent of the Kirana gharana, a prominent musical lineage in Hindustani classical music. He has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions, including the Padma Shri in 2004.
Lastly, Nishith Jain (born 1978) is a prominent Indian businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded Bestylish, a successful e-commerce platform for fashion and lifestyle products in India.
While these are just a few examples, the name Nishith has been carried by many accomplished individuals throughout history, with its roots deeply embedded in the rich cultural and linguistic heritage of the Indian subcontinent.
People
Nishith + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nishith 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
Nishith: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nishith?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nishith 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Nishith a common name?
We classify Nishith as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nishith most popular?
The single biggest year for Nishith was 2007, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nishith is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nishith in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 229 people with the name Nishith, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,223 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 Nishith 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 Nishith?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nishith appears almost entirely male. Of the 226 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Nishith?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nishith is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.7%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Nishith most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Nishith in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (221 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 Nishith in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nishith a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nishith 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 Nishith still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nishith 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 Nishith 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 called Nishith?
Find out how many Americans are named Nishith on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.