Vikram
A masculine Hindu name meaning "valour" and "glory".
Name Census estimates that about 1,999 living Americans carry the first name Vikram. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vikram today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vikram births was 2000 (65 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vikram. 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 Vikram with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 171,463 Americans
Peak year
2000
65 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,302
Tracked since 1969
Census
Vikram in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,462 people with the first name Vikram, which placed it at #4,264 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,264
National first-name rank
People counted
4.5K
4,462 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
92.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vikram
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vikram is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and White (2.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Vikram described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Vikram at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander92.5% · 4,127
- Two or more races4.2% · 189
- White2.0% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 35
- Black or African American0.3% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Popularity
Vikram: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vikram from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 530 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Vikram remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vikram 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 Vikram during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vikrams live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. California, New York, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Vikram, while Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 69 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vikram
Vikram is a masculine given name of Sanskrit origin, derived from the words "Vikrama" meaning valor or valiant, and "Rama" meaning the supreme being or Lord Vishnu in Hinduism. The name has been in use since ancient times in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the northern and central regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, where Vikramaditya is mentioned as a legendary emperor known for his valor, justice, and patronage of arts and literature. The name gained popularity during the Gupta period (320-550 CE) when several rulers bore the name or titles associated with it.
In the 7th century CE, a famous king named Vikramaditya is believed to have established the Vikram Samvat calendar, which is still used in parts of India today. This king is often associated with the folk tales and stories of the Vikram and Vetal (Vikram and the Vampire) collection.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Vikram was Vikramaditya VI, a powerful ruler of the Chalukya dynasty in the 12th century CE, who ruled over a vast empire in the Deccan region of India.
In more recent times, Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971) was an Indian physicist and industrialist who played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Indian space program and is considered the father of the Indian space program.
Vikram Seth (born 1952) is a renowned Indian novelist and poet, best known for his works such as "The Golden Gate" and "A Suitable Boy."
Vikram Pandit (born 1957) is an Indian-American banker who served as the CEO of Citigroup from 2007 to 2012, guiding the company through the global financial crisis.
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (1919-1971) was an Indian scientist and innovator who initiated the space research program in India and was instrumental in the establishment of several institutions, including the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
Vikram Chandra (born 1961) is an Indian-American writer known for his novels such as "Red Earth and Pouring Rain" and "Sacred Games," which was adapted into a popular Netflix series.
People
Vikram + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vikram 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
Vikram: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vikram?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,999 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vikram 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 171,463 US residents.
Is Vikram a common name?
We classify Vikram as "Rare". It ranks above 93.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,042 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vikram most popular?
The single biggest year for Vikram was 2000, when 65 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vikram is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vikram in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,462 people with the name Vikram, or 1.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,264 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Vikram in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Vikram?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vikram appears almost entirely male. Of the 4,452 people counted with this name, 99.9% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Vikram?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vikram is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and White (2.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Vikram most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Vikram in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (4,127 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Vikram in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vikram a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vikram 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 Vikram still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vikram 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 Vikram 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.
How many people are named Vikram?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.