Shloke
A Sanskrit name meaning verse from sacred Hindu scriptures.
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Shloke. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shloke today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shloke births was 2010 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shloke. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shloke. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2010
6 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2010 SSA rank
#11,973
Tracked since 2010
Popularity
Shloke: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Shloke 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 Shloke during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Shloke
The name Shloke has its origins in Sanskrit, one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages of the Indian subcontinent. It can be traced back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, where it was often used as a term for a sacred verse or hymn. The name is derived from the Sanskrit root "shlok," which means "song" or "verse."
In ancient Hindu culture, Shloke was a revered name bestowed upon those who were considered skilled in the recitation and composition of sacred hymns and verses. It was associated with a deep reverence for the spiritual traditions and religious texts that formed the foundations of Hindu philosophy.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shloke can be found in the Rig Veda, one of the oldest and most sacred texts of Hinduism. The Rig Veda is a collection of sacred hymns and verses that were composed between 1500 and 1000 BCE. In this ancient text, the term "shlok" is frequently used to refer to the poetic verses and hymns that comprise the Vedic literature.
Throughout Hindu history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Shloke. One such figure was Shloke Acharya, a renowned Hindu scholar and philosopher who lived in the 9th century CE. He was a prominent figure in the Advaita Vedanta tradition and is credited with writing several influential texts on Hindu philosophy and spirituality.
Another famous Shloke was Shloke Rishi, a revered sage and poet who is believed to have lived in the 7th century BCE. He is renowned for his contributions to the Upanishads, a collection of philosophical texts that form the basis of Hindu spiritual thought. Shloke Rishi is said to have composed several verses and hymns that are still recited and studied by scholars of Hinduism today.
In the 15th century CE, there was a renowned Hindu scholar and poet named Shloke Vidyavachaspati. He was renowned for his mastery of Sanskrit literature and is credited with writing several influential works on Hindu philosophy, religion, and culture.
Moving forward in time, one of the most notable figures with the name Shloke was Shloke Bhattacharya, a Bengali poet and writer who lived in the 19th century. He was a prominent figure in the Bengali literary renaissance and is renowned for his contributions to the development of modern Bengali poetry and literature.
Throughout history, the name Shloke has been associated with a deep reverence for spiritual wisdom, poetic expression, and the preservation of ancient Hindu traditions. It has been bestowed upon scholars, poets, and philosophers who have made significant contributions to the rich cultural heritage of the Indian subcontinent.
People
Shloke + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shloke 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
Shloke: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shloke?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shloke 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Shloke a common name?
We classify Shloke as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shloke most popular?
The single biggest year for Shloke was 2010, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shloke is about 16 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 Shloke in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shloke a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shloke 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 Shloke still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shloke 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 Shloke 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 Shloke as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.