Pema
A Sanskrit feminine name meaning "the lotus flower".
Name Census estimates that about 235 living Americans carry the first name Pema. It is a predominantly female name (94.9% of registrations). The average person named Pema today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pema births was 2017 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pema. 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 Pema with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
235
~ 1 in 1,458,529 Americans
Peak year
2017
18 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2019 SSA rank
#10,053
Tracked since 2001
Census
Pema in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 987 people with the first name Pema, which placed it at #12,562 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
#12,562
National first-name rank
People counted
987
987 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
86.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pema
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pema is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.9%. The next largest groups are White (8.0%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Pema 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 Pema at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander86.9% · 858
- White8.0% · 79
- Two or more races3.6% · 36
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 8
- Black or African American0.6% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Pema
Pema leans heavily female at 94.9% of total registrations, but 12 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Pema as a male name
- Ranked #11,776 in 2019
- 6 male births in 2019
- Peak: 2017 (6 births)
Pema as a female name
- Ranked #10,053 in 2024
- 10 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (15 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Pema on both sides of the split. Of the 988 people counted with this name, 308 were male (31.2%) and 680 were female (68.8%).
Popularity
Pema: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pema 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 122 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Pema remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pema 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 Pema during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pemas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Pema
The name Pema has its origins in the Tibetan language and culture, where it has been used for centuries. The name is derived from the word "padma," which means "lotus" in Sanskrit. The lotus flower holds significant symbolism in Buddhism, representing purity, enlightenment, and spiritual awakening.
Pema is a popular name among Tibetan Buddhists, as it is associated with the Buddhist deity Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche. Padmasambhava is revered as the second Buddha and is credited with establishing Buddhism in Tibet in the 8th century AD. The name Pema is often given to children in honor of this influential figure.
The earliest recorded use of the name Pema dates back to the 8th century AD in Tibetan Buddhist texts and historical records. One of the most renowned individuals with this name is Pema Lingpa (1450-1521), a Tibetan Buddhist tertön (treasure revealer) and terton (treasure master) who discovered and revealed several important Buddhist teachings and practices.
Another notable figure is Pema Tshering (1770-1845), a Bhutanese Buddhist lama and the founder of the Pema Lingpa school of Nyingma Buddhism. He was influential in preserving and promoting Tibetan Buddhist traditions in Bhutan.
In more recent history, Pema Chödrön (born 1936) is a renowned American Buddhist nun, author, and teacher. She has written several bestselling books on Buddhist philosophy and mindfulness, including "When Things Fall Apart" and "The Places That Scare You."
Pema Dondhup (1928-2011) was a Tibetan politician and diplomat who served as the first kalön tripa (Prime Minister) of the Tibetan government-in-exile from 1991 to 1993.
Pema Tseden (born 1969) is a renowned Tibetan filmmaker and writer, known for his critically acclaimed films that explore Tibetan culture and identity, such as "The Silent Holy Stones" and "Jinpa."
The name Pema continues to be popular among Tibetan Buddhists and those with an appreciation for Buddhist teachings and traditions. It carries a rich cultural and spiritual significance, representing the lotus flower's symbolism of purity, enlightenment, and spiritual growth.
People
Pema + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pema 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
Pema: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pema?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 235 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pema 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 1,458,529 US residents.
Is Pema a common name?
We classify Pema as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 237 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pema most popular?
The single biggest year for Pema was 2017, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pema is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pema in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 987 people with the name Pema, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,562 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 Pema 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 Pema?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Pema on both sides of the split. Of the 988 people counted with this name, 308 were male (31.2%) and 680 were female (68.8%). 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 Pema?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pema is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.9%. The next largest groups are White (8.0%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Pema most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Pema in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.9% (858 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 Pema in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pema a female name?
Yes, 94.9% of people registered as Pema 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 Pema still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pema 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 Pema 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 Americans are named Pema?
See how many Americans are named Pema on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.