Skandha
An Indian name meaning "cluster" or "aggregate" in Sanskrit.
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Skandha. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Skandha today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Skandha births was 2022 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Skandha. 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 Skandha. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
2022
7 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2022 SSA rank
#10,687
Tracked since 2022
Popularity
Skandha: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Skandha 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 Skandha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Skandha
The name Skandha has its origins in Sanskrit, one of the oldest languages of the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "skanda," which means "aggregate" or "bundle." The term is widely used in Buddhist philosophy to refer to the five aggregates that constitute human existence: form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness.
In Hindu mythology, Skandha is also the name of the god Kartikeya, the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati. He is often depicted as a warrior deity and is revered as the god of war, wisdom, and fertility. The earliest mentions of Skandha can be found in various Hindu scriptures, including the Mahabharata and the Puranas.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Skandha was Skandhagupta, a ruler of the Gupta Empire in ancient India. He reigned from approximately 455 CE to 467 CE and is credited with reviving the empire after a period of decline. Another notable figure was Skandhavara, a Buddhist scholar and teacher who lived in the 7th century CE and was known for his contributions to the study of Buddhist philosophy.
In the realm of literature, Skandha appears as a character in the epic poem Kumara Sambhava, written by the renowned Sanskrit poet Kalidasa in the 5th century CE. The poem depicts the story of Skandha's birth and his role in the cosmic battle between the gods and the demons.
Moving forward in time, Skandhavara II was a Buddhist scholar and teacher who lived in the 9th century CE and was renowned for his work on Buddhist logic and epistemology. Another notable figure was Skandhagupta II, a ruler of the Pratihara dynasty in northern India, who reigned from approximately 913 CE to 917 CE.
Finally, in more recent history, Skandha Bhattar was a Hindu philosopher and scholar who lived in the 16th century CE and made significant contributions to the study of Vedanta, one of the major schools of Hindu philosophy.
While the name Skandha is not as common today as it once was, it remains an important part of the cultural and religious heritage of the Indian subcontinent, with its roots stretching back thousands of years.
People
Skandha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Skandha 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
Skandha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Skandha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Skandha 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Skandha a common name?
We classify Skandha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Skandha most popular?
The single biggest year for Skandha was 2022, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Skandha is about 4 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 Skandha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Skandha a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Skandha 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 Skandha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Skandha 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 Skandha 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 are called Skandha?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.