Sitara
A feminine name of Urdu origin meaning "star".
Name Census estimates that about 718 living Americans carry the first name Sitara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sitara today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sitara births was 2023 (75 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sitara. 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 Sitara with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
718
~ 1 in 477,374 Americans
Peak year
2023
75 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,733
Tracked since 1987
Census
Sitara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 694 people with the first name Sitara, which placed it at #16,301 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
#16,301
National first-name rank
People counted
694
694 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
64.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sitara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sitara is Asian/Pacific Islander at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (14.1%) and White (10.2%). 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 Sitara 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 Sitara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander64.6% · 448
- Two or more races14.1% · 98
- White10.2% · 71
- Black or African American7.1% · 49
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4
Popularity
Sitara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sitara from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 274 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
Sitara 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 Sitara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sitaras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Sitara, while Washington, North Carolina, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sitara
Sitara is a name of Persian origin, derived from the word "sitareh" meaning star in the Persian language. The name has been in use for centuries in the region spanning modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia.
The earliest known recorded instance of the name Sitara dates back to the 10th century AD, where it was mentioned in the writings of the renowned Persian poet and scholar, Ferdowsi. In his epic poem, the Shahnameh, Ferdowsi refers to a character named Sitara, who was a beautiful princess.
During the Mughal period in India, which lasted from the 16th to the 19th century, the name Sitara gained popularity among the ruling elite. Several Mughal princesses and noblewomen were named Sitara, reflecting the cultural influence of the Persian language and literature on the Mughal court.
One of the most notable historical figures named Sitara was Sitara Begum, the daughter of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Born in 1639, Sitara Begum was known for her intelligence, beauty, and her patronage of the arts and literature.
In the 19th century, the name Sitara was also prominent among the Afghan nobility. Sitara Khanum, born in 1848, was the daughter of the Afghan ruler, Dost Mohammad Khan. She played a significant role in Afghan politics and was respected for her wisdom and diplomatic skills.
Another notable figure named Sitara was Sitara Devi, an Indian classical dancer and actress, born in 1920. She was a pioneer in the field of Kathak dance and made significant contributions to the preservation and promotion of this art form.
Sitara Achakzai, born in 1982, is a contemporary Afghan politician and women's rights activist. She has been a vocal advocate for women's empowerment and has worked tirelessly to promote education and equal opportunities for women in Afghanistan.
The name Sitara has maintained its popularity across various cultures and regions, particularly in South Asia and the Middle East, where it continues to be bestowed upon newborn girls as a symbol of beauty, grace, and radiance.
People
Sitara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sitara 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
Sitara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sitara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 718 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sitara 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 477,374 US residents.
Is Sitara a common name?
We classify Sitara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 726 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sitara most popular?
The single biggest year for Sitara was 2023, when 75 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sitara is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sitara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 694 people with the name Sitara, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,301 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 Sitara 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 Sitara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sitara appears almost entirely female. Of the 693 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Sitara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sitara is Asian/Pacific Islander at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (14.1%) and White (10.2%). 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 Sitara most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Sitara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.6% (448 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 Sitara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sitara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sitara 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 Sitara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sitara 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 Sitara 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 Sitara?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.