Pujan
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "worship" or "veneration".
Name Census estimates that about 41 living Americans carry the first name Pujan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Pujan today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pujan births was 2011 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pujan. 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 Pujan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Pujan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
41
~ 1 in 8,359,862 Americans
Peak year
2011
7 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2013 SSA rank
#11,810
Tracked since 1996
Popularity
Pujan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pujan from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 17 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Pujan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pujan 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 Pujan 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 Pujan
The name Pujan has its roots in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It derives from the Sanskrit word "puja," which means "worship" or "reverence." This suggests that the name may have been associated with religious or spiritual contexts in its early uses.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pujan can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, where it was sometimes used as a name for individuals involved in religious ceremonies or practices. The name's connection to worship and reverence aligns with the significance of rituals and traditions in Hindu culture.
In historical records, Pujan appears as the name of several notable figures throughout the centuries. One such individual was Pujan Mishra, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 12th century CE. His works, including commentaries on ancient texts, were highly influential in preserving and interpreting Sanskrit literature.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Pujan was Pujan Das, a 16th-century Hindu mystic and saint from Bengal, India. He was known for his devotional poetry and his teachings on spiritual enlightenment, which attracted many followers during his lifetime.
In the realm of art and culture, Pujan Sahay was a celebrated Indian painter from the 19th century. Born in 1835, he was renowned for his intricate and vibrant depictions of Hindu deities and mythological scenes, which captured the essence of traditional Indian art forms.
Moving forward in time, Pujan Rambachan was a celebrated Indian-born writer and academic who lived from 1923 to 2014. He was widely recognized for his contributions to the study of Hinduism and comparative religion, authoring numerous books and scholarly works on these subjects.
Lastly, Pujan Shrestha was a prominent Nepali artist born in 1972. Known for his innovative use of traditional Nepali materials and techniques, his works explored themes of cultural identity and contemporary Nepali society. Shrestha's sculptures and installations have been showcased in exhibitions around the world.
Through its linguistic origins and historical applications, the name Pujan carries a deep connection to religious and spiritual traditions, particularly within the Hindu and South Asian contexts. Its associations with worship, reverence, and artistic expression have been embodied by various notable individuals throughout history, reflecting the cultural richness and significance of this name.
People
Pujan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pujan 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
Pujan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pujan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 41 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pujan 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 8,359,862 US residents.
Is Pujan a common name?
We classify Pujan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 42 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pujan most popular?
The single biggest year for Pujan was 2011, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pujan is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Pujan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pujan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pujan 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 Pujan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pujan 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 Pujan 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Pujan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.