Vidhur
A masculine Sanskrit name meaning "free from bondage" or "wise".
Name Census estimates that about 64 living Americans carry the first name Vidhur. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vidhur today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vidhur births was 2018 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vidhur. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Vidhur. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
64
~ 1 in 5,355,537 Americans
Peak year
2018
9 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,079
Tracked since 2013
Popularity
Vidhur: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vidhur from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 38 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Vidhur remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vidhur 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 Vidhur during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vidhur
The name Vidhur has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word 'vidura,' which means 'wise' or 'discerning.' The name can be traced back to Hindu mythology and ancient Sanskrit literature.
One of the earliest references to the name Vidhur can be found in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, where it is the name of one of the central characters, Vidura. In the epic, Vidura is portrayed as a wise and virtuous advisor to the Kuru dynasty, known for his unwavering commitment to dharma (righteousness) and his exceptional counsel.
Throughout history, the name Vidhur has been associated with wisdom, intelligence, and moral integrity. It has been borne by several notable figures, including:
1. Vidura, the character from the Mahabharata, whose birth is believed to have occurred during the late Vedic period, around 1000 BCE.
2. Vidhur Shukla (born 1925), an Indian actor and filmmaker known for his contributions to Hindi cinema and theatre. He received the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honors, in 1986.
3. Vidhur Mahajan (born 1964), an Indian actor and filmmaker who has worked in various Bollywood and television productions.
4. Vidhur Vinod (born 1985), an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his work in Tamil cinema.
5. Vidhur Raghavan, an Indian businessman and co-founder of the e-commerce platform Mirakki, which was acquired by Amazon in 2014.
While the name Vidhur has its roots in Hindu mythology and Sanskrit literature, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained popularity across various regions and communities. Its association with wisdom and virtue has made it a revered and respected name throughout history.
People
Vidhur + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vidhur 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
Vidhur: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vidhur?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 64 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vidhur 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 5,355,537 US residents.
Is Vidhur a common name?
We classify Vidhur as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 64 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vidhur most popular?
The single biggest year for Vidhur was 2018, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vidhur is about 8 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 Vidhur in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vidhur a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vidhur 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 Vidhur still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vidhur 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 Vidhur 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 common is the name Vidhur?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.