Soham
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "I am that" or "I am the universe".
Name Census estimates that about 1,037 living Americans carry the first name Soham. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Soham today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Soham births was 2010 (69 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Soham. 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 Soham with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Soham is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 330,525 Americans
Peak year
2010
69 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,397
Tracked since 1992
Census
Soham in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,372 people with the first name Soham, which placed it at #9,907 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
#9,907
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,372 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
94.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Soham
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Soham is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.2%). 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 Soham 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 Soham at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.8% · 1,300
- White2.6% · 36
- Two or more races1.2% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 9
- Black or African American0.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 4
Popularity
Soham: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Soham from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 449 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Soham 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 Soham during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sohams live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Texas recorded the most babies named Soham, while Ohio, Massachusetts, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 46 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Soham
The name Soham has its origins in the Sanskrit language and is closely associated with Hindu spiritual traditions. Its earliest roots can be traced back to the Sanskrit phrase "So'ham," which translates to "I am That" or "I am the Ultimate Reality." This phrase is a profound expression of the unity between the individual self (Atman) and the universal consciousness (Brahman), a central tenet of Hindu philosophy.
In Hindu scriptures, the utterance "Soham" is considered a powerful mantra, a sacred sound vibration believed to aid in meditation and spiritual practice. It is often chanted during pranayama (breath control) exercises and is said to help practitioners attain a state of heightened awareness and inner peace. The name Soham is thus imbued with deep spiritual significance, representing the journey of self-realization and the pursuit of enlightenment.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Soham can be found in the Upanishads, a collection of ancient Hindu philosophical texts dating back to around the 8th century BCE. The Upanishads contain teachings on the nature of reality, consciousness, and the path to liberation from the cycle of rebirth (moksha).
Throughout history, the name Soham has been borne by various spiritual leaders and scholars within the Hindu tradition. One notable figure was Soham Swami, a revered 17th-century Hindu saint and mystic who hailed from Gujarat, India. He was known for his profound teachings on devotion, self-inquiry, and the attainment of inner peace.
Another influential figure was Soham Baba, a renowned 20th-century spiritual master from Maharashtra, India. Born in 1888, Soham Baba was a highly respected guru who attracted followers from around the world seeking guidance on the path of self-realization. He was renowned for his simple yet profound teachings on the nature of consciousness and the importance of living in the present moment.
In the realm of literature, the name Soham has been immortalized in the works of several Indian writers and poets. One such example is Soham Sen, a 19th-century Bengali poet and educator who was known for his lyrical compositions and contributions to the literary renaissance in Bengal.
Soham Prakash Sharma, born in 1917, was an eminent Indian philosopher and author who wrote extensively on the subjects of Indian philosophy, spirituality, and the teachings of the Upanishads. His works have been widely acclaimed for their depth and clarity in elucidating complex philosophical concepts.
It is worth noting that while the name Soham has deep spiritual connotations in the Hindu tradition, it has also been embraced by individuals from other cultural backgrounds who resonate with its underlying message of self-awareness and the pursuit of inner peace.
People
Soham + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Soham 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
Soham: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Soham?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,037 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Soham 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 330,525 US residents.
Is Soham a common name?
We classify Soham as "Rare". It ranks above 90.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,048 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Soham most popular?
The single biggest year for Soham was 2010, when 69 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Soham is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Soham in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,372 people with the name Soham, or 0.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,907 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 Soham 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 Soham?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Soham leans strongly male. 1,340 people counted with this name were male (97.5%), compared with 35 female bearers (2.5%). 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 Soham?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Soham is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.8%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.2%). 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 Soham most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Soham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (1,300 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 Soham in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Soham a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Soham 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 Soham still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Soham 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 Soham 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 common is the name Soham?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.