Vidya
A feminine Hindu name meaning "knowledge" or "education".
Name Census estimates that about 466 living Americans carry the first name Vidya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vidya today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vidya births was 2007 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vidya. 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
466
~ 1 in 735,524 Americans
Peak year
2007
17 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,893
Tracked since 1972
Popularity
Vidya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vidya from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 131 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Vidya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vidya 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 Vidya 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 Vidya
The name Vidya is of Sanskrit origin and has its roots in ancient India. It derives from the Sanskrit word "vid" which means "to know" or "to understand". The name can be traced back to the Vedic period in Indian history, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
Vidya is a revered concept in Hinduism and is often personified as the goddess of knowledge, wisdom, and learning. The name appears in various Hindu scriptures and texts, such as the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Puranas. In the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most significant Hindu texts, Vidya is equated with spiritual knowledge and is considered the path to moksha (liberation).
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Vidya can be found in the Rig Veda, one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism. The Rig Veda, composed around 1500 BCE, contains hymns and prayers dedicated to various deities, including those extolling the virtues of Vidya.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Vidya. One such example is Vidya Bhushan Shukla (1877-1936), an Indian freedom fighter, journalist, and writer who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule.
Another prominent figure was Vidya Dhar Mahajan (1915-2006), an Indian historian and writer known for his works on ancient and medieval Indian history. His book "Ancient India" is considered a seminal text on the subject.
In the field of literature, Vidya Niwas Mishra (1926-1976) was a renowned Hindi poet and writer who received the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972 for his work "Swatantra Kahaniyan".
Vidya Balan (born 1978) is a celebrated Indian actress known for her powerful performances in critically acclaimed films such as "Parineeta", "The Dirty Picture", and "Kahaani". She has won numerous awards, including a National Film Award and several Filmfare Awards.
Vidya Sagar (1920-2011) was an Indian scientist and technologist who made significant contributions to the development of India's space program. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, for his pioneering work in the field of rocket propulsion.
People
Vidya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vidya 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
Vidya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vidya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 466 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vidya 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 735,524 US residents.
Is Vidya a common name?
We classify Vidya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 479 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vidya most popular?
The single biggest year for Vidya was 2007, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vidya is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vidya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vidya 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.