Yamini
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "controller of night" or "twin".
Name Census estimates that about 55 living Americans carry the first name Yamini. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yamini today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yamini births was 2005 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yamini. 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 Yamini with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Yamini. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
55
~ 1 in 6,231,897 Americans
Peak year
2005
10 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2021 SSA rank
#15,150
Tracked since 1996
Census
Yamini in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 854 people with the first name Yamini, which placed it at #13,954 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
#13,954
National first-name rank
People counted
854
854 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
92.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yamini
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yamini is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Black (2.0%) and White (1.9%). 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 Yamini 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 Yamini at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander92.9% · 793
- Black or African American2.0% · 17
- White1.9% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 15
- Two or more races1.1% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 4
Popularity
Yamini: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yamini from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 32 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
Yamini 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 Yamini 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 Yamini
Yamini is a feminine given name of Sanskrit origin, derived from the word "yamuna," which means "twin" or "the Yamuna River." The name has its roots in ancient Indian culture and Hindu mythology, where the Yamuna River holds great significance as a sacred river mentioned in various religious texts.
The earliest recorded usage of the name Yamini can be traced back to ancient Hindu scriptures, such as the Puranas and the Mahabharata. In these texts, Yamini is mentioned as a goddess associated with the Yamuna River, often depicted as the twin sister of the river goddess Ganga (Ganges).
One of the most notable historical references to the name Yamini is found in the epic Mahabharata, where it is mentioned as the name of a powerful demoness who was defeated by the god Krishna. This story has contributed to the perception of the name as representing strength and power.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Yamini. One of the earliest recorded instances is Yamini Devi (born in the 16th century), a Rajput princess from the Chauhan dynasty of Rajasthan, India. She was known for her bravery and leadership skills during times of war.
Another famous Yamini was Yamini Roy Chowdhury (1923-2003), an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who played a significant role in popularizing Indian dance forms, particularly Kathak and Manipuri, on the global stage.
In the realm of literature, Yamini Krishnamurthy (1906-1995) was a renowned Indian author and poet who wrote extensively in the Tamil language. Her works explored themes of social injustice, feminism, and the human condition.
Yamini Reddy (born in 1971) is a contemporary Indian artist and sculptor known for her innovative and thought-provoking installations that explore themes of identity, memory, and cultural hybridity.
Yamini Lohia (born in 1990) is an Indian entrepreneur and social activist who founded the organization "She Wings," which aims to empower and uplift underprivileged women and girls through education and skill development programs.
While the name Yamini has its roots in ancient Indian culture and Hindu mythology, it has transcended boundaries and become popular across various regions and communities, with individuals from diverse backgrounds embracing the name for its beautiful meaning and historical significance.
People
Yamini + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yamini as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yamini: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yamini?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 55 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yamini 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 6,231,897 US residents.
Is Yamini a common name?
We classify Yamini as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 56 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yamini most popular?
The single biggest year for Yamini was 2005, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yamini 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 Yamini in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 854 people with the name Yamini, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,954 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 Yamini 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 Yamini?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yamini leans strongly female. 837 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 13 male bearers (1.5%). 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 Yamini?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yamini is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Black (2.0%) and White (1.9%). 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 Yamini most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Yamini in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (793 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 Yamini in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yamini a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yamini 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.
Is Yamini still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yamini 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 Yamini 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 Yamini?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Yamini at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.