Shunika
A name of Sanskrit origin meaning "zeroless" or "without zero".
Name Census estimates that about 38 living Americans carry the first name Shunika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shunika today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shunika births was 1980 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shunika. 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 Shunika. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
38
~ 1 in 9,019,851 Americans
Peak year
1980
8 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1989 SSA rank
#14,238
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Shunika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shunika from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 30 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shunika 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 Shunika 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 Shunika
The name Shunika finds its origins in the Sanskrit language, an ancient Indo-Aryan tongue spoken in South Asia. It can be traced back to the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to the 6th century BCE. The word 'shunya' in Sanskrit means 'void' or 'empty', and 'ka' is a diminutive suffix, indicating something small or endearing.
Shunika holds a significant place in Hindu mythology and religious texts. It is mentioned in the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, as a minor character associated with the god Indra. In the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics, Shunika is described as a sage who attained enlightenment through his devotion to the divine.
The earliest recorded use of the name Shunika dates back to the 5th century CE, found in ancient inscriptions from the Gupta Empire in northern India. One notable figure from this era was Shunika, a celebrated poet and scholar who lived during the reign of King Chandragupta II in the 4th century CE.
In the 7th century CE, Shunika was the name of a prominent Buddhist monk and traveler who journeyed from India to China. His accounts of his travels and the Buddhist teachings he encountered were influential in spreading Buddhism in East Asia.
During the medieval period, Shunika was the name of a renowned mathematician and astronomer from the 9th century CE. He made significant contributions to the field of trigonometry and is credited with developing methods for calculating sine and cosine tables.
Another historical figure named Shunika was a Sanskrit grammarian from the 12th century CE. He authored a influential work on Sanskrit grammar, which became a standard reference text for scholars and students in the subsequent centuries.
In the 16th century CE, there was a Shunika who was a skilled architect and sculptor. He was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar to design and oversee the construction of several grand monuments, including the famous Buland Darwaza in Fatehpur Sikri.
These are just a few examples of the notable individuals who have borne the name Shunika throughout history, highlighting its rich cultural and linguistic heritage in the Indian subcontinent.
People
Shunika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shunika 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
Shunika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shunika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 38 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shunika 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 9,019,851 US residents.
Is Shunika a common name?
We classify Shunika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 50.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 41 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shunika most popular?
The single biggest year for Shunika was 1980, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shunika is about 45 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 Shunika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shunika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shunika 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 Shunika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shunika 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 Shunika 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 common is the name Shunika?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Shunika on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.