India
India was the 1722nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 118 babies. Its best year was 2001, when it ranked 299th with 1,049 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 700 places. More babies were named India in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning from the country, named for the Indus · English, Greek, Sanskrit
Say it IN-dee-uh /ˈɪndiə/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,722 girls, down 704 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 118girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20011,049 babies
- Total since 1880
- 24,017babies recorded
What does the name India mean?
India is a place-name used as a girls' name. The country's name comes through Latin and Greek from the Indus River, whose name goes back to Sanskrit sindhu, "river". Wikipedia notes that India was used as a girls' name in England during British rule in India and appears as India Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. In the US it was most popular in the 1990s and 2000s.
Ἰνδός (Ancient Greek, “the Indus river”)सिन्धु (Sanskrit, “sindhu, river”)
How sure is this? Well established.
See also: Sanskrit and Indian names, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'India', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'India (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Nicknames for India
The usual nicknames for India are Indie and Indy. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named India in the last five years, 235 were named Indie, against 1 twenty years earlier.
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Indias go by each one.
India popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 27 since 1985.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,722 | 118 |
| 2020 | #1,018 | 248 |
| 2010 | #977 | 261 |
| 2000 | #395 | 723 |
| 1990 | #488 | 500 |
| 1980 | #1,059 | 134 |
| 1970 | #761 | 192 |
| 1960 | #1,774 | 41 |
| 1950 | #1,851 | 27 |
| 1940 | #1,709 | 22 |
| 1930 | #2,059 | 17 |
| 1920 | #1,488 | 30 |
| 1910 | #1,013 | 19 |
| 1900 | #901 | 18 |
| 1890 | #566 | 22 |
| 1880 | #506 | 12 |
How popular is India, counting every spelling?
India has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #1,554 for girls in 2025, against #1,722 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name India?
118 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named India (0.03 per 1,000 births). For a girl named India born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 71 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named India.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named India?
About 22,200 people born in the US named India are alive today, with a median age of 28; half are between 21 and 38. That makes India mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
India by state
How common India was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Mississippi (6.1×), Alabama (3.5×), Louisiana (2.5×), South Carolina (2.3×), Georgia (2.3×). In 26 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with India: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like India, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for India · Sibling names for India
Questions about the name India
What does India mean?
India means “from the country, named for the Indus” (English, Greek, Sanskrit origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name India?
India was the 1722nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 118 babies. Its best year was 2001, when it ranked 299th with 1,049 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 700 places. More babies were named India in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is India a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name India in the US.
Where is India most popular?
In 2021–2025, India was most common in Mississippi (0.77 per 1,000 girls), followed by Alabama and Louisiana.