Sarika
A feminine Sanskrit name meaning "creeper of betel vine".
Name Census estimates that about 519 living Americans carry the first name Sarika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sarika today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sarika births was 1996 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sarika. 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.
People living today
519
~ 1 in 660,413 Americans
Peak year
1996
21 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,182
Tracked since 1974
Popularity
Sarika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sarika from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 140 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sarika 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 Sarika during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sarikas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sarika
The name Sarika has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE and was the classical literary language of the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "saarika," which means "a parrot" or "a mynah bird." It is believed to have been initially used as a feminine name in India, particularly in the northern regions.
The earliest recorded usage of the name Sarika can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Puranas. In these texts, Sarika is often mentioned as a character or as a metaphorical reference to the beauty and grace of a parrot or mynah bird. The name gained popularity among Hindu families, particularly those with ties to the Brahmin community.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Sarika was Sarika Bhagavati, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 7th century CE during the reign of the Chalukya dynasty in the Deccan region of India. She was renowned for her contributions to Sanskrit literature and for her expertise in grammar and poetics.
In the 12th century, Sarika Devi was a prominent figure in the court of the Gahadavala ruler Govindachandra in the present-day state of Uttar Pradesh, India. She was known for her patronage of the arts and literature, and several works were dedicated to her by poets and scholars of the time.
During the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th to 16th centuries, Sarika Devi was a notable queen and the wife of the ruler Harihara II. She was known for her devotion to the Hindu goddess Saraswati and her support for the arts and culture.
In more recent times, Sarika is the name of an acclaimed Indian film actress, born in 1965. She has appeared in numerous Bollywood and regional Indian films and has won several awards for her performances. Her real name is Sarika Thakur.
Another notable bearer of the name Sarika is Sarika Mehta, an Indian author and journalist born in 1975. She has written several books on contemporary Indian society and culture, including "The Broken Line" and "The Melon Fields."
Throughout its history, the name Sarika has maintained a strong connection to its Sanskrit roots and has been associated with beauty, grace, and a love for the arts and culture. It continues to be a popular name choice among Indian families, particularly those with Hindu roots and a appreciation for traditional names with rich cultural significance.
People
Sarika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sarika 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
Sarika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sarika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 519 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sarika 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 660,413 US residents.
Is Sarika a common name?
We classify Sarika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 538 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sarika most popular?
The single biggest year for Sarika was 1996, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sarika is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sarika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sarika 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.
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.