Vishesh
A masculine given name of Sanskrit origin meaning "distinct" or "unique".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Vishesh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vishesh today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vishesh births was 2003 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vishesh. 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 Vishesh with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Vishesh. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2003
7 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2006 SSA rank
#13,922
Tracked since 2003
Census
Vishesh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 221 people with the first name Vishesh, which placed it at #36,071 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
#36,071
National first-name rank
People counted
221
221 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
94.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vishesh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vishesh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Black (1.4%). 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 Vishesh 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 Vishesh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.1% · 208
- White4.5% · 10
- Black or African American1.4% · 3
Popularity
Vishesh: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Vishesh 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 Vishesh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 12 | 0 | 12 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Vishesh
The name Vishesh originates from the Sanskrit language, which has its roots in ancient India. The name is derived from the word "vishesh," which means "special" or "unique." The name has been in use for centuries and can be traced back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts.
One of the earliest mentions of the name Vishesh can be found in the Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic that dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In the epic, Vishesh is mentioned as the name of a warrior who fought in the great battle of Kurukshetra. This reference suggests that the name was already in use during the Vedic period in India.
In Hindu mythology, there is a reference to a character named Vishesh in the Puranas, which are ancient Hindu scriptures that recount stories of gods, goddesses, and their incarnations. However, the exact details of this character are not widely known or documented.
The earliest recorded person with the name Vishesh is believed to be a Hindu scholar and philosopher who lived in the 12th century CE. Vishesh Sharma, as he was known, wrote several treatises on Hindu philosophy and religion, contributing to the intellectual discourse of his time.
Another notable figure in history with the name Vishesh was Vishesh Narain Singh, a prominent Indian freedom fighter and politician who lived from 1889 to 1964. Singh played a significant role in the Indian independence movement and served as a member of the Constituent Assembly, which drafted the Constitution of India.
In the realm of literature, Vishesh Ranjan Anand was a renowned Hindi poet and writer who lived from 1922 to 2002. He was widely acclaimed for his contributions to modern Hindi poetry and received several prestigious awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Padma Bhushan.
In the field of sports, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi was an Indian cricketer who played domestic cricket for various teams in India. He was an all-rounder known for his aggressive batting style and was active during the late 20th century.
Another notable figure with the name Vishesh was Vishesh Chauhan, an Indian businessman and philanthropist who founded the Vishesh Group, a diversified conglomerate based in India. Chauhan was known for his philanthropic efforts and contributions to various social causes.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Vishesh. The name continues to be popular in India and is often chosen for its unique and special meaning.
People
Vishesh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vishesh 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
Vishesh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vishesh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vishesh 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Vishesh a common name?
We classify Vishesh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vishesh most popular?
The single biggest year for Vishesh was 2003, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vishesh is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vishesh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 221 people with the name Vishesh, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,071 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 Vishesh 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 Vishesh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vishesh appears almost entirely male. Of the 226 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Vishesh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vishesh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Black (1.4%). 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 Vishesh most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Vishesh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (208 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 Vishesh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vishesh a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vishesh 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 Vishesh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vishesh 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 Vishesh 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 common is the name Vishesh?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.