# India (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/india/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “indus river”, “river”, “india”, “a river”, “stream” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɪndi.ə/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 24,017 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 27 / 23,990 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 8,450, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Inherited from Old English India, Indea, from Latin India, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδία (Indía), from Ancient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós, “Indus river”), from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (hiⁿdūš), from Sanskrit सिन्धु (sindhu), ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš (“river”). Compare Middle English Inde and Ynde from Old French Ynde (original form started to prevail in the 16th century), Classical Persian هند (hind, “India”), Sanskrit सिन्धु (síndhu, “a river, stream”). Doublet of Indus, Sindhu, Hindu, and Sindh.

## What it means

India is grouped under river and water.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 253 | 997 |
| 2012 | 204 | 1,202 |
| 2013 | 259 | 971 |
| 2014 | 226 | 1,121 |
| 2015 | 262 | 1,022 |
| 2016 | 263 | 1,006 |
| 2017 | 302 | 894 |
| 2018 | 295 | 911 |
| 2019 | 285 | 928 |
| 2020 | 248 | 1,018 |
| 2021 | 283 | 938 |
| 2022 | 275 | 969 |
| 2023 | 182 | 1,266 |
| 2024 | 169 | 1,352 |
| 2025 | 118 | 1,722 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 5 | 6,952 |
| 1989 | 9 | 5,341 |
| 1990 | 7 | 6,711 |
| 1992 | 6 | 7,832 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 438 | 130 |
| 2012 | 395 | 143 |
| 2013 | 370 | 142 |
| 2014 | 279 | 190 |
| 2015 | 268 | 202 |
| 2016 | 240 | 217 |
| 2017 | 267 | 196 |
| 2018 | 275 | 194 |
| 2019 | 224 | 222 |
| 2020 | 247 | 200 |
| 2021 | 235 | 213 |
| 2022 | 147 | 305 |
| 2023 | 138 | 319 |
| 2024 | 100 | 429 |
| 2025 | 79 | 509 |

## People named India

- India Summer, American pornographic actress
- India Eisley, American actress
- India Allen, American model and actress
- India de Beaufort, British actress
- India Hair, French actress
- India Amarteifio, British actress
- India Hicks, British writer, interior designer and former fashion model
- India Fowler, actress
- India Ennenga, American actress
- India Sardjoe, Dutch breakdancer

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.