Prakash
A masculine Hindu name meaning "light" or "radiance".
Name Census estimates that about 55 living Americans carry the first name Prakash. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Prakash today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Prakash births was 1995 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Prakash. 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 Prakash with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Prakash. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
55
~ 1 in 6,231,897 Americans
Peak year
1995
10 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2006 SSA rank
#11,693
Tracked since 1972
Census
Prakash in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,005 people with the first name Prakash, which placed it at #4,589 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
#4,589
National first-name rank
People counted
4.0K
4,005 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Prakash
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Prakash is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.4%) and White (1.3%). 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 Prakash 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 Prakash at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.8% · 3,838
- Two or more races1.4% · 57
- White1.3% · 52
- Black or African American1.2% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.1% · 3
Popularity
Prakash: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Prakash from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 23 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Prakash remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Prakash 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 Prakash 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 Prakash
The name Prakash finds its origin in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the root for many modern languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent. The word "Prakash" literally translates to "light" or "illumination" in Sanskrit, reflecting its association with brightness, knowledge, and enlightenment.
Historically, the name Prakash has been widely used across various regions of the Indian subcontinent, including India, Nepal, and parts of Bangladesh. Its earliest recorded use can be traced back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, where it was often used as a metaphor for knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual enlightenment.
In the realm of religious and spiritual texts, the name Prakash has been mentioned in various Hindu scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Upanishads. It was also used to refer to certain deities and spiritual leaders who were revered as sources of light and guidance.
One of the earliest recorded historical figures bearing the name Prakash was Prakash Guru, a renowned spiritual leader and poet who lived in the 16th century. He was a prominent figure in the Bhakti movement and is known for his devotional poetry and teachings that focused on love, compassion, and spiritual awakening.
Another notable figure was Prakash Chandra Sethi, an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary who played a significant role in India's independence movement against British colonial rule in the early 20th century. He was born in 1888 and actively participated in various protests and civil disobedience campaigns organized by the Indian National Congress.
In the field of literature, Prakash Tandon, an acclaimed Hindi poet and writer, left a lasting mark with his poetic works that explored themes of love, philosophy, and social issues. He was born in 1919 and received numerous awards and accolades for his literary contributions.
Prakash Padukone, born in 1955, is a renowned Indian badminton player who has made a significant impact on the sport. He was the first Indian to win the prestigious All England Open Badminton Championships in 1980 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest badminton players of all time.
Prakash Jha, born in 1952, is a celebrated Indian filmmaker and screenwriter known for his critically acclaimed and thought-provoking films that tackle social and political issues. His body of work includes films like "Damul," "Gangaajal," and "Raajneeti," which have garnered both critical acclaim and commercial success.
The name Prakash continues to be a popular choice for parents in various parts of the Indian subcontinent, carrying with it a sense of enlightenment, wisdom, and the pursuit of knowledge.
People
Prakash + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Prakash 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
Prakash: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Prakash?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 55 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Prakash 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 6,231,897 US residents.
Is Prakash a common name?
We classify Prakash as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 57 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Prakash most popular?
The single biggest year for Prakash was 1995, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Prakash is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Prakash in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,005 people with the name Prakash, or 1.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,589 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 Prakash 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 Prakash?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Prakash leans strongly male. 3,910 people counted with this name were male (97.6%), compared with 98 female 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 Prakash?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Prakash is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.4%) and White (1.3%). 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 Prakash most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Prakash in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (3,838 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 Prakash in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Prakash a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Prakash 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 Prakash still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Prakash 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 Prakash 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 share the name Prakash?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.