Vayu
A masculine Hindu name meaning "wind" or "air" in Sanskrit.
Name Census estimates that about 203 living Americans carry the first name Vayu. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vayu today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vayu births was 2023 (69 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vayu. 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 Vayu with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
203
~ 1 in 1,688,445 Americans
Peak year
2023
69 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,663
Tracked since 2018
Popularity
Vayu: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vayu from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 184 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
Vayu 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 Vayu during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vayus live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Vayu, while Florida, Washington, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vayu
Vayu is a name with origins dating back to ancient Hindu mythology and scriptures. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "vāyu," which means "wind" or "air." The name is closely associated with the Vedic god of wind, known as Vayu or Vāyu Devata.
In the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, Vayu is described as a powerful and life-giving force. He is often depicted as a mighty warrior riding a horse or an antelope, carrying a banner and wielding a whip or a spear. The Rig Veda, one of the four sacred Vedic texts, contains numerous hymns dedicated to Vayu, praising his strength, speed, and ability to purify the atmosphere.
The name Vayu has been used throughout Indian history, with some notable individuals bearing this name. One of the earliest recorded examples is Vayu Putra, a sage mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, who was born from the wind god Vayu. Another notable figure is Vayu Bhagavan, a 10th-century Hindu philosopher and commentator on the Vedas.
During the medieval period, the name Vayu was also associated with various rulers and warriors. One of the most famous was Vayu Simha, a 13th-century king of the Kakatiya dynasty in present-day Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, who was known for his military prowess and patronage of art and architecture.
In more recent times, the name Vayu has been carried by several prominent individuals, including Vayu Naidu, an Indian freedom fighter and politician who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement, and Vayu Bhatta, a 20th-century Indian astrologer and author known for his works on Vedic astrology.
Vayu has also been a popular name in literature and arts, with characters bearing this name appearing in various works. For example, Vayu is the name of a character in the novel "The Serpent's Revenge" by Indian author Sudha Murty, which explores themes of mythology and folklore.
People
Vayu + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vayu as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vayu: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vayu?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 203 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vayu 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 1,688,445 US residents.
Is Vayu a common name?
We classify Vayu as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 204 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vayu most popular?
The single biggest year for Vayu was 2023, when 69 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vayu 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 Vayu in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vayu a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vayu 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 Vayu still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vayu 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 Vayu 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 share the name Vayu?
Want to know how many people share the name Vayu? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.