Swati
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "beloved" or "melody".
Name Census estimates that about 380 living Americans carry the first name Swati. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Swati today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Swati births was 1988 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Swati. 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.
People living today
380
~ 1 in 901,985 Americans
Peak year
1988
20 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2007 SSA rank
#10,738
Tracked since 1965
Popularity
Swati: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Swati from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 134 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Swati remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Swati 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 Swati during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Swatis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New Jersey, Illinois, California recorded the most babies named Swati, while New York, California, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Swati
The name Swati originates from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in the Indian subcontinent. Swati is derived from the Sanskrit word "swati," which means "self-dependent" or "independent." This name has been in use for centuries and is deeply rooted in Indian culture and tradition.
In Hindu mythology, Swati is one of the 27 Nakshatras, or lunar mansions, which are segments of the celestial circle measured in relation to the movement of the moon. The Swati Nakshatra is associated with the Arcturus star and is considered auspicious for naming children, particularly girls.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Swati can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In this epic, Swati is mentioned as the name of a princess who was the daughter of King Vahusha and the wife of the sage Richika.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Swati. One of the most famous was Swati Thirunal Rama Varma (1813-1846), who was the Maharaja of the Indian princely state of Travancore (now part of Kerala) and a renowned patron of the arts and literature.
Another notable Swati was Swati Devi (1907-1986), an Indian freedom fighter and political activist who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement. She was a member of the Indian National Congress and worked closely with leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
In the field of literature, Swati Tiwari (1925-2011) was a prominent Hindi novelist and short story writer who is known for her works that explored the complexities of human relationships and the struggles of women in Indian society.
Swati Dandekar (1949-2022) was an acclaimed Hindustani classical vocalist and was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honors, for her contributions to music.
Swati Piramal (born 1955) is an Indian businesswoman and philanthropist who is the vice-chairperson of the Piramal Group, a diversified global business conglomerate. She is also involved in various philanthropic initiatives, focusing on education and healthcare.
People
Swati + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Swati 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
Swati: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Swati?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 380 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Swati 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 901,985 US residents.
Is Swati a common name?
We classify Swati as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 403 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Swati most popular?
The single biggest year for Swati was 1988, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Swati is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Swati a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Swati 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.
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.