Anirudh
Masculine · “unobstructed”
Anirudh is Sanskrit for the one who cannot be stopped, and it belongs to a grandson of Krishna in the epic literature — a figure whose story is mostly about being abducted for love.
How old is the name Anirudh?
Anirudh first appears in US birth records in 1991 — 34 years ago. The typical Anirudh alive today was born around 2009, making them about 16 years old. About 1,500 people named Anirudh are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Anirudh most popular?
Anirudh peaked in 2003, reaching #1717 nationally. Today it ranks #3583, 1,866 places below that high. See the whole 2003 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Aniruddha to Anirudh
The story of Anirudh
Aniruddha is the son of Pradyumna and grandson of Krishna in the Puranic literature, and his story involves an abduction, a battle with Shiva and a rescue. The name has been in use across India for a very long time and is particularly common in the south and west. Roman spellings vary — Anirudh, Aniruddh, Aniruddha — depending on how much of the Sanskrit ending a family keeps.
Meaning
unobstructed, uncontrollable
From Sanskrit a-, not, and rudh, to obstruct or restrain; the name therefore means one who cannot be held back. It is also a title of Vishnu in some traditions.
How the name formed
- Aniruddha
- Anirudh
Related forms: Anirudh · Aniruddha · Anirudh
Pronouncing Anirudh
ah-nee-ROODH
Three syllables with the stress on the last. The dh is a single breathy consonant English does not have.
Nicknames for Anirudh
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1991
- Most boys named
- 200980 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1717reached in 2003
- Change vs 2024
- +47.6%31 in 2025, from 21
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Anirudh in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Anirudh in Hindi — transliteration
- Aniruddha in Sanskrit — same name
- Anirudh in Tamil — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New Jersey.
Anirudhs among us
people named Anirudh are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 55,099 born in 2025 was named Anirudh
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Anirudh
- #3583
- Anirudh on the 2025 chart
- #892
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Anirudh went to 31 boys in 2025, but Aniruddh is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 36, which makes it the 892nd most-given boys’ name of the year — 2,691 places above the chart.
- Anirudh31
- Aniruddh5
About 1 boy in 47,447 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 55,099 for Anirudh itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Maximino test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Anirudh's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Maximino climbed just as high around 1978, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Maximino's path sketches the road Anirudh is walking now.
Anirudh sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Anirudh is headed
Anirudh is easing off slowly — about 16% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Anirudh beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Anirudh in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Sanskrit meaning that is strong and easy to explain.
- Ani is a ready short form that is a complete name elsewhere.
- Widely used across India, so it has a large community that knows it exactly.
- The dh at the end is a genuine Indian consonant that English lacks and will be flattened.
- Anirudh, Aniruddh and Aniruddha are all in use and relatives may prefer different ones.
- Seven letters and three syllables is a fair amount for American forms.
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What they receive
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Anirudh
Masculine · #3583 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Anirudhs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Anirudh are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Anirudh?
- Anirudh is the most-used spelling in US records — 31 of the 36 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Aniruddh.
- How popular is the name Anirudh in 2025?
- Anirudh ranks #3583 among US boy names in 2025, with 31 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Anirudh?
- About 1 in every 55,099 US boys born in 2025 was named Anirudh — 31 in all.
- Will my child share the name Anirudh with classmates?
- Anirudh will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Anirudh
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
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Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Anirudh? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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