Veda
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "knowledge, sacred writings".
Name Census estimates that about 7,875 living Americans carry the first name Veda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Veda today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Veda births was 2024 (407 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Veda. 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
7.9K
~ 1 in 43,524 Americans
Peak year
2024
407 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2019 SSA rank
#692
Tracked since 1881
Gender
Gender distribution for Veda
Out of the 13,701 babies given the name Veda since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Veda as a male name
- Ranked #13,994 in 2019
- 5 male births in 2019
- Peak: 2019 (5 births)
Veda as a female name
- Ranked #692 in 2024
- 407 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (407 births)
Popularity
Veda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Veda from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,520 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Veda remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Veda 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 Veda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vedas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. Texas, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Veda, while Connecticut, North Dakota, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 195 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Veda
The name Veda is derived from the Sanskrit word "veda," which means "knowledge" or "wisdom." The Vedas are ancient Hindu sacred texts that form the foundations of Hinduism and are considered the oldest scriptures in the world, dating back to around 1500-500 BCE.
The Vedas were originally composed in Vedic Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that predates Classical Sanskrit. The name Veda is believed to have originated in the Indian subcontinent during the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
The Vedas are a collection of hymns, prayers, and philosophical teachings that were passed down orally for generations before being written down. They are divided into four main texts: the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda, and the Atharva Veda.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Veda can be found in the Rig Veda, which is considered the oldest of the four Vedas. One of the most famous figures associated with the name Veda is Veda Vyasa, a legendary Hindu sage who is believed to have compiled and arranged the Vedas, as well as authoring the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Veda. Veda Semese (born 1987) is a Samoan rugby union player who has represented Samoa at the international level. Veda Hille (born 1968) is an Australian singer-songwriter and composer known for her eclectic musical style.
In ancient India, the name Veda was also associated with the concept of knowledge and learning. Scholars and students of the Vedas were known as "Vedic," and the Vedic period is considered a significant era in the development of Indian philosophy, religion, and culture.
Another prominent figure with the name Veda is Veda Vyasa Ranade (1843-1898), an Indian social reformer, judge, and scholar who played a vital role in the Indian independence movement. He was also a prominent figure in the Prarthana Samaj, a religious reform movement that aimed to promote rational and progressive values within Hinduism.
Overall, the name Veda has a rich historical and cultural significance, with its origins deeply rooted in the ancient Hindu scriptures and the Vedic period of Indian history.
People
Veda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Veda 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
Veda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Veda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,875 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Veda 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 43,524 US residents.
Is Veda a common name?
We classify Veda as "Rare". It ranks above 97.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,701 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Veda most popular?
The single biggest year for Veda was 2024, when 407 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Veda is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Veda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Veda 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.