Vina
From Sanskrit, meaning a stringed musical instrument like a lute or vina.
Name Census estimates that about 1,427 living Americans carry the first name Vina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vina today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vina births was 1920 (111 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vina. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 240,192 Americans
Peak year
1920
111 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,089
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Vina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vina from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 850 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vina 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 Vina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vinas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Kentucky, Tennessee, California recorded the most babies named Vina, while South Carolina, Ohio, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 57 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vina
Vina is a name with roots that can be traced back to several cultures and languages. It is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit word "Vina," which means a stringed musical instrument similar to a lute or a zither. In ancient India, the vina was a highly revered instrument, often associated with divine and spiritual music.
The name Vina may also have connections to the Latin word "vinum," meaning wine. This could suggest ties to ancient Roman or Mediterranean cultures, where wine held significant cultural and religious importance. Some linguistic experts suggest that the name might be a variant of the Italian name "Vinia," derived from the Latin word "vinea," meaning a vineyard.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Vina can be found in the Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, where it is used to refer to a celestial nymph or apsara. This association with divine feminine energy and grace may have contributed to the name's enduring popularity.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Vina. One of the earliest was Vina Sundor Devi (1648-1712), a famous Indian singer and musician who was a court performer during the Mughal Empire. Another renowned figure was Vina Massey (1938-1984), a British actress and dancer who appeared in several Bollywood films in the 1960s and 1970s.
In the realm of literature, Vina Delmar (1904-1990) was an American author and screenwriter, best known for her novel "Bad Girl," which was adapted into a film starring James Dunn and Sally Eilers in 1931. Vina Bovy (1900-1983) was a Belgian soprano who achieved international acclaim for her operatic performances in the early 20th century.
Moving to more recent times, Vina Pandurangi (1949-2021) was an Indian-American actress and director who made significant contributions to South Asian theater in the United States. Her work helped amplify the voices and experiences of the South Asian diaspora.
While the name Vina has its roots in ancient cultures and languages, it has continued to resonate across generations and geographies, often carrying connotations of artistic expression, femininity, and grace.
People
Vina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vina 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
Vina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,427 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vina 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 240,192 US residents.
Is Vina a common name?
We classify Vina as "Rare". It ranks above 92.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,260 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vina most popular?
The single biggest year for Vina was 1920, when 111 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vina is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vina 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.