Simcha
A feminine Hebrew name meaning "joy" or "happiness".
Name Census estimates that about 2,093 living Americans carry the first name Simcha. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Simcha today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Simcha births was 2019 (86 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Simcha. 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 Simcha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.1K
~ 1 in 163,762 Americans
Peak year
2019
86 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,050
Tracked since 1956
Census
Simcha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,718 people with the first name Simcha, which placed it at #8,443 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
#8,443
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,718 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
95.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Simcha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Simcha is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.3%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Simcha 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 Simcha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.8% · 1,646
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 23
- Two or more races1.3% · 23
- Black or African American1.2% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Simcha
Simcha leans heavily male at 89.6% of total registrations, but 222 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Simcha as a male name
- Ranked #2,050 in 2024
- 74 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (86 births)
Simcha as a female name
- Ranked #17,261 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2002 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Simcha leans strongly male. 1,462 people counted with this name were male (85.2%), compared with 253 female bearers (14.8%).
Popularity
Simcha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Simcha from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 650 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Simcha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Simcha 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 Simcha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Simchas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Simcha
The name Simcha is a Hebrew name derived from the Hebrew word "simchah," meaning "joy" or "gladness." It has its roots in ancient Semitic languages and can be traced back to biblical times.
The earliest known reference to the name Simcha can be found in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of Esther, where it is mentioned as the name of one of the seven eunuchs who served King Ahasuerus. This suggests that the name was in use during the Persian period, around the 5th century BCE.
In Jewish tradition, Simcha is often associated with the concept of rejoicing and celebrating, particularly during religious festivals and joyous occasions. It has been a popular name among Jewish communities for centuries, reflecting the cultural and spiritual significance of joy and happiness in their faith.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Simcha was Simcha ben Samuel of Vitry, a renowned French Talmudic scholar who lived in the 12th century. He is best known for his work on the Tosafot, a critical commentary on the Talmud.
Another notable figure with the name Simcha was Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, a prominent Hasidic rabbi and leader who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was known for his teachings on spiritual joy and inner peace, which influenced many within the Hasidic movement.
In the 20th century, the name Simcha gained recognition through individuals like Simcha Jacobovici, a Canadian-Israeli filmmaker and author, who is known for his works exploring the historical roots of Judaism and Christianity.
Simcha Whitehill, an American music producer and songwriter, has also contributed to the popularity of the name in recent decades, working with various artists across different genres.
Additionally, Simcha Rotem, an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament), has carried the name in the political sphere, serving as a member of several Israeli governments in the late 20th century.
While the name Simcha has its origins in the Hebrew language and Jewish tradition, it has transcended cultural boundaries and has been adopted by individuals from various backgrounds, reflecting the universal appeal of joy and happiness.
People
Simcha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Simcha 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
Simcha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Simcha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,093 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Simcha 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 163,762 US residents.
Is Simcha a common name?
We classify Simcha as "Rare". It ranks above 93.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,137 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Simcha most popular?
The single biggest year for Simcha was 2019, when 86 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Simcha is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Simcha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,718 people with the name Simcha, or 0.57 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,443 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 Simcha 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 Simcha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Simcha leans strongly male. 1,462 people counted with this name were male (85.2%), compared with 253 female bearers (14.8%). 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 Simcha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Simcha is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.3%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Simcha most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Simcha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (1,646 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 Simcha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Simcha a male name?
Yes, 89.6% of people registered as Simcha 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 Simcha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Simcha 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 Simcha 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 Simcha?
See how many people share the name Simcha on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.