Satara
An Indian feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "truth seeker".
Name Census estimates that about 299 living Americans carry the first name Satara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Satara today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Satara births was 1988 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Satara. 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
299
~ 1 in 1,146,336 Americans
Peak year
1988
16 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2007 SSA rank
#20,012
Tracked since 1972
Census
Satara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 319 people with the first name Satara, which placed it at #28,252 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
#28,252
National first-name rank
People counted
319
319 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
60.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Satara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Satara is Black at 60.5%. The next largest groups are White (17.9%) and Two or More Races (7.8%). 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 Satara 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 Satara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American60.5% · 193
- White17.9% · 57
- Two or more races7.8% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.9% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 5
Popularity
Satara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Satara from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 110 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Satara remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Satara 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 Satara 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 Satara
The name Satara has its roots in the Sanskrit language, an ancient Indo-Aryan tongue that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It is believed to have emerged around the 2nd millennium BCE, during the Vedic period, when the foundational Hindu scriptures, known as the Vedas, were composed.
Satara is derived from the Sanskrit word "shatara," which means "deceitful" or "cunning." This etymology suggests that the name may have been initially bestowed upon individuals perceived as possessing a crafty or shrewd nature. Alternatively, some scholars propose that it could be a variation of the Sanskrit word "shataru," meaning "enemy" or "adversary."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Satara can be found in the Mahabharata, the ancient Indian epic poem that dates back to the 8th century BCE. In the text, Satara is mentioned as the name of a warrior who fought alongside the Pandava princes during the great Kurukshetra war.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Satara. One of the most prominent was Satara Thambi (1765-1832), a celebrated Tamil poet and scholar from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. His works, which included poems, plays, and translations, were instrumental in reviving and promoting the Tamil language during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Another individual of historical significance was Satara Maharaj (1808-1839), the last ruler of the Maratha Empire's princely state of Satara. Despite his short reign, he is remembered for his efforts to reform the administrative system and promote education within his kingdom.
In the realm of literature, Satara Kumara Sastri (1887-1944) was a renowned Telugu writer and poet from Andhra Pradesh, India. His contributions to Telugu literature, particularly his translations of Sanskrit classics, earned him widespread acclaim and numerous accolades.
Satara Devi (1920-2001), a renowned Indian classical dancer and choreographer, was also a notable figure. She was instrumental in popularizing and preserving the traditional Odissi dance form, and her performances and teachings influenced generations of dancers.
Finally, Satara Cheluvaiah (1921-2002), a prominent Indian freedom fighter and social reformer, played a pivotal role in the independence movement against British rule. He dedicated his life to championing the rights of marginalized communities and advocating for social justice.
These are just a few examples of the individuals who have carried the name Satara throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human civilization.
People
Satara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Satara 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
Satara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Satara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 299 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Satara 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 1,146,336 US residents.
Is Satara a common name?
We classify Satara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 315 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Satara most popular?
The single biggest year for Satara was 1988, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Satara is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Satara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 319 people with the name Satara, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,252 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 Satara 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 Satara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Satara appears almost entirely female. Of the 313 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Satara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Satara is Black at 60.5%. The next largest groups are White (17.9%) and Two or More Races (7.8%). 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 Satara most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Satara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.5% (193 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 Satara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Satara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Satara 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 Satara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Satara 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 Satara 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 have the name Satara?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.