Parneet
A feminine name of Indian origin, meaning "bright cloud".
Name Census estimates that about 183 living Americans carry the first name Parneet. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Parneet today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Parneet births was 2007 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Parneet. 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 Parneet with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
183
~ 1 in 1,872,975 Americans
Peak year
2007
15 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,859
Tracked since 2000
Census
Parneet in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 342 people with the first name Parneet, which placed it at #26,967 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
#26,967
National first-name rank
People counted
342
342 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Parneet
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Parneet is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.2%) and Two or More Races (1.2%). 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 Parneet 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 Parneet at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.8% · 331
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 4
- Two or more races1.2% · 4
- Black or African American0.6% · 2
- White0.3% · 1
Popularity
Parneet: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Parneet 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
Parneet 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 Parneet during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Parneets live
Origin
Meaning and history of Parneet
The name Parneet has its origins in the Punjabi language spoken primarily in the Indian state of Punjab. It is a combination of two words, 'par' meaning 'prayer' or 'worship' and 'neet' meaning 'the path' or 'way'. Thus, the name Parneet essentially means 'the path of worship' or 'the way of prayer'.
The name is believed to have emerged during the early stages of the Sikh faith, which originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region. It is likely that the name was coined to reflect the spiritual and devotional aspects of the Sikh way of life, which emphasizes the importance of prayer, meditation, and a connection with the divine.
While the name Parneet is not explicitly mentioned in the Sikh scriptures or historical texts, it carries a strong resonance with the core values and teachings of Sikhism. The emphasis on prayer, devotion, and spiritual growth aligns with the name's meaning, making it a popular choice among Sikh families.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Parneet can be traced back to the late 17th century, when it was given to a prominent figure in the Sikh community. Bhai Parneet Singh (1670-1735) was a renowned Sikh scholar and warrior who played a significant role in the defense of the Sikh faith during the turbulent times of the Mughal Empire.
Another notable historical figure with the name Parneet was Bhai Parneet Singh Bhindranwale (1947-1984), a controversial Sikh religious leader who advocated for the creation of a separate Sikh homeland, leading to the events that culminated in the Operation Blue Star in 1984.
In more recent times, Parneet Kaur Bal (born 1994) is an Indian professional wrestler who has represented India at international competitions and won several medals, including a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Parneet Singh Dhillon (born 1987) is a British actor and model of Indian descent, known for his roles in various television series and films, such as "Gypsy" and "The Outcast".
Parneet Faye (born 1991) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician who has released several albums and gained popularity for her unique blend of indie-pop and folk music.
The name Parneet continues to be widely used among Sikh families, particularly in the Punjab region and within the Sikh diaspora around the world. Its spiritual connotations and connection to the Sikh faith have made it a cherished and meaningful choice for many parents.
People
Parneet + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Parneet as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Parneet: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Parneet?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 183 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Parneet 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 1,872,975 US residents.
Is Parneet a common name?
We classify Parneet as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 185 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Parneet most popular?
The single biggest year for Parneet was 2007, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Parneet is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Parneet in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 342 people with the name Parneet, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,967 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 Parneet 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 Parneet?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Parneet leans strongly female. 308 people counted with this name were female (88.3%), compared with 41 male bearers (11.7%). 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 Parneet?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Parneet is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.2%) and Two or More Races (1.2%). 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 Parneet most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Parneet in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.8% (331 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 Parneet in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Parneet a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Parneet 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 Parneet still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Parneet 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 Parneet 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 the name Parneet?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Parneet, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.