Somya
A Sanskrit name meaning "gentle, calm, tranquil" or "the moon".
Name Census estimates that about 167 living Americans carry the first name Somya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Somya today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Somya births was 2012 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Somya. 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 Somya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
167
~ 1 in 2,052,421 Americans
Peak year
2012
22 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2017 SSA rank
#15,690
Tracked since 1997
Census
Somya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 400 people with the first name Somya, which placed it at #24,171 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
#24,171
National first-name rank
People counted
400
400 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
72.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Somya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Somya is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and White (9.5%). 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 Somya 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 Somya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander72.5% · 290
- Black or African American10.8% · 43
- White9.5% · 38
- Two or more races5.0% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Somya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Somya from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 88 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Somya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Somya 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 Somya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Somyas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Somya
The name Somya has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest and most significant languages of the Indian subcontinent. It is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word "soma," which means "moon" or "nectar of immortality." The name is also associated with the Hindu moon god, Chandra, and is often used to describe someone with a calm, serene, and peaceful demeanor.
The earliest recorded use of the name Somya can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Puranas. In these texts, the name is often used as an epithet for deities and revered figures who were believed to possess qualities of tranquility and serenity.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Somya was a renowned Sanskrit scholar and grammarian who lived in the 7th century CE. He is credited with writing several influential works on Sanskrit grammar, including the "Somya-Vyakarana," which is considered a seminal text in the field of linguistics.
In the 12th century, there was a famous Buddhist scholar and teacher named Somya who hailed from the region of Bengal (present-day Bangladesh and West Bengal, India). He played a significant role in the propagation of Buddhism in Southeast Asia and is revered as a spiritual leader in several Buddhist communities.
During the medieval period, the name Somya was also associated with several notable figures in the field of literature and poetry. One such individual was Somya Bhatta, a renowned Sanskrit poet who lived in the 16th century. His works, which included several lyrical compositions and devotional verses, were widely celebrated for their beauty and depth.
Another notable bearer of the name Somya was a 17th-century Mughal princess who was known for her exceptional beauty and grace. Princess Somya Begum was the daughter of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and is said to have been a patron of the arts and a skilled calligrapher.
In more recent times, the name Somya has been borne by several accomplished individuals in various fields. One such person is Somya Bhattacharyya, an Indian scientist and entrepreneur who has made significant contributions to the field of nanotechnology and has been recognized with several prestigious awards and honors.
People
Somya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Somya 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
Somya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Somya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 167 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Somya 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 2,052,421 US residents.
Is Somya a common name?
We classify Somya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 169 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Somya most popular?
The single biggest year for Somya was 2012, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Somya is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Somya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 400 people with the name Somya, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,171 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 Somya 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 Somya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Somya leans strongly female. 378 people counted with this name were female (93.8%), compared with 25 male bearers (6.2%). 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 Somya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Somya is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and White (9.5%). 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 Somya most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Somya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.5% (290 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 Somya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Somya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Somya 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 Somya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Somya 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 Somya 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 people have Somya as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Somya on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.