Samarth
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "capable" or "competent".
Name Census estimates that about 1,399 living Americans carry the first name Samarth. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Samarth today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Samarth births was 2018 (97 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Samarth. 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 Samarth with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Samarth is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 245,000 Americans
Peak year
2018
97 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,035
Tracked since 1996
Census
Samarth in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,391 people with the first name Samarth, which placed it at #9,825 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
#9,825
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,391 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
94.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Samarth
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samarth is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.7%. The next largest groups are White (2.5%) 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 Samarth 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 Samarth at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.7% · 1,317
- White2.5% · 35
- Two or more races1.2% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 9
- Black or African American0.6% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 6
Popularity
Samarth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Samarth from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 754 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Samarth remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Samarth 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 Samarth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Samarths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Samarth, while Connecticut, Georgia, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 54 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Samarth
The name Samarth is derived from Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that has been the primary language of Hindu scriptures and texts. Samarth is a Sanskrit word that means "capable," "competent," or "powerful." The name has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the regions where Sanskrit was widely used and studied, such as present-day India, Nepal, and parts of Southeast Asia.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Samarth can be found in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures. It was often used as an epithet or honorific title to describe deities, sages, or revered individuals who were believed to possess exceptional abilities or spiritual powers. The name was also occasionally used as a personal name for individuals who were considered to be particularly capable or accomplished.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Samarth. One of the most prominent is Samarth Ramdas (1608-1681), a renowned Hindu saint and spiritual teacher from Maharashtra, India. He was a leading figure in the Varkari tradition and is credited with reviving and popularizing the Bhakti movement in the region.
Another historical figure with the name Samarth is Samarth Guru Ramdas (1537-1581), the fourth Guru of the Sikh faith. He was known for his spiritual wisdom and leadership, and played a crucial role in establishing the city of Amritsar as a significant center for Sikhism.
In the field of literature, Samarth Ramachandra Ayyar (1827-1887) was a prominent Telugu poet and playwright from Andhra Pradesh, India. He is best known for his literary works that explored themes of social reform and human emotions.
Samarth Shikhar (1901-1953) was a renowned Indian mountaineer and explorer who led several expeditions to the Himalayas and other mountain ranges. He was the first Indian to climb several peaks, including Trisul and Kamet, and made significant contributions to the field of mountaineering in India.
Another notable figure with the name Samarth is Samarth Navalrai (1913-2002), an Indian philanthropist and industrialist from Gujarat. He was the founder of the Samarth Group of Companies and was known for his charitable endeavors, particularly in the areas of education and healthcare.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Samarth, a name that carries a sense of capability, competence, and power, reflecting its Sanskrit origins.
People
Samarth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Samarth as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Samarth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Samarth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,399 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Samarth 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 245,000 US residents.
Is Samarth a common name?
We classify Samarth as "Rare". It ranks above 92.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,411 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Samarth most popular?
The single biggest year for Samarth was 2018, when 97 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Samarth is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Samarth in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,391 people with the name Samarth, or 0.46 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,825 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 Samarth 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 Samarth?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Samarth appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,393 people counted with this name, 99.4% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Samarth?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samarth is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.7%. The next largest groups are White (2.5%) 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 Samarth most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Samarth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (1,317 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 Samarth in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Samarth a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Samarth 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 Samarth still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Samarth 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 Samarth 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 Samarth?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.