Vinay
A masculine name of Hindu origin meaning "humble" or "modest".
Name Census estimates that about 1,101 living Americans carry the first name Vinay. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vinay today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vinay births was 2003 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vinay. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 311,312 Americans
Peak year
2003
47 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,085
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Vinay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vinay from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 319 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vinay 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 Vinay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vinays live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, New Jersey, New York recorded the most babies named Vinay, while Michigan, Texas, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 59 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vinay
The name Vinay has its origins in the Sanskrit language, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that was spoken in the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "vinaya," which means "humility," "modesty," or "politeness." The name Vinay is believed to have been in use since ancient times, possibly as early as the 4th or 5th century BCE, during the Vedic period in India.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vinay can be found in the ancient Hindu text, the Mahabharata, which is dated to around the 8th or 9th century BCE. The Mahabharata is a Sanskrit epic that includes numerous characters with the name Vinay, suggesting that the name was in use during that time period.
In the 6th century CE, a famous Indian Buddhist philosopher named Vinayaka is mentioned in historical records. Vinayaka was known for his contributions to the study of Buddhist philosophy and logic.
During the medieval period in India, the name Vinay was associated with several prominent figures. One notable example is Vinay Pathak, a 13th-century Sanskrit scholar and poet from the Deccan region of India.
In more recent times, there have been several individuals with the name Vinay who have achieved recognition in various fields. Vinay Pathak, born in 1968, is a renowned Indian actor and has appeared in numerous Bollywood films and television shows.
Another notable figure with the name Vinay is Vinay Rai, an Indian mountaineer who has successfully summited several of the world's highest peaks, including Mount Everest and K2.
Vinay Katiyar, born in 1952, is an Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has served as a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament, representing the Faizabad constituency.
Vinay Shukla, born in 1937, was an acclaimed Indian film director and screenwriter known for his contributions to the Indian parallel cinema movement. Some of his notable works include "Khatta Meetha" and "Godfather."
Vinay Sharma, born in 1985, is an Indian cricketer who has represented India in various international tournaments, including the 2011 Cricket World Cup, where India emerged victorious.
People
Vinay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vinay 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
Vinay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vinay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,101 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vinay 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 311,312 US residents.
Is Vinay a common name?
We classify Vinay as "Rare". It ranks above 90.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,132 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vinay most popular?
The single biggest year for Vinay was 2003, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vinay is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vinay a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vinay 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.
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.