Parul
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "a rain drop" or "sparkling like a pearl".
Name Census estimates that about 90 living Americans carry the first name Parul. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Parul today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Parul births was 1973 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Parul. 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 Parul with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Parul. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
90
~ 1 in 3,808,382 Americans
Peak year
1973
10 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
1995 SSA rank
#11,430
Tracked since 1970
Census
Parul in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,330 people with the first name Parul, which placed it at #6,771 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
#6,771
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,330 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Parul
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Parul is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Parul 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 Parul at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.7% · 2,276
- White1.2% · 29
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
- Two or more races0.3% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.0% · 1
Popularity
Parul: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Parul from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 62 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Parul 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 Parul 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 Parul
The name Parul originates from Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "parula," meaning "a small flower" or "a bud." The name has been used predominantly in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in regions where Sanskrit and its derived languages were widely spoken.
Parul is a name deeply rooted in Hindu mythology and literature. It is believed to have been mentioned in the Puranas, a vast collection of ancient Hindu texts that explore various aspects of mythology, cosmology, and philosophy. The name is often associated with beauty, delicacy, and the ephemeral nature of life, drawing parallels with the fleeting existence of a flower.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Parul can be found in the medieval Hindu text "Naishadha Charita," written by the celebrated Sanskrit poet Shriharsha in the 12th century CE. In this epic poem, Parul is the name of a beautiful princess who becomes the object of affection for the protagonist, Nala.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Parul. One of the most famous was Parul Devi (1919-2001), an esteemed Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She was renowned for her mastery of the Kathak dance form and her contributions to preserving and promoting Indian classical dance traditions.
Another prominent figure was Parul Ghosh (1926-2022), a pioneering Indian actress and screenwriter. She was one of the first leading ladies of Indian cinema and acted in numerous Bengali and Hindi films during the 1940s and 1950s, earning critical acclaim for her performances.
In the realm of literature, Parul Bharadwaj (born 1961) is a renowned Indian poet, writer, and translator. Her works have been widely published and translated into multiple languages, earning her several prestigious literary awards and honors.
Parul Sheth (born 1977) is an Indian singer, composer, and music producer who has gained international recognition for her fusion of Indian classical music with contemporary genres. Her unique style and collaborations with artists from around the world have garnered critical acclaim.
Lastly, Parul Gulati (born 1989) is an Indian actress and model who has appeared in numerous Bollywood films and television shows. Her versatile performances have earned her a dedicated fan base and recognition within the Indian entertainment industry.
People
Parul + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Parul 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
Parul: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Parul?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 90 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Parul 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 3,808,382 US residents.
Is Parul a common name?
We classify Parul as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 98 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Parul most popular?
The single biggest year for Parul was 1973, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Parul is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Parul in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,330 people with the name Parul, or 0.77 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,771 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 Parul 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 Parul?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Parul leans strongly female. 2,274 people counted with this name were female (97.6%), compared with 56 male bearers (2.4%). 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 Parul?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Parul is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Parul most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Parul in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.7% (2,276 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 Parul in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Parul a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Parul 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 Parul still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Parul 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 Parul 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 common is the name Parul?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.