Bodhi
Feminine · “awakening”
Bodhi is given to both — 562 girls and 14,292 boys since 1880. See Bodhi as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Bodhi is the Sanskrit word for awakening — the specific thing the Buddha is said to have attained under the tree.
How old is the name Bodhi?
Bodhi first appears in US birth records in 2005 — 20 years ago. The typical Bodhi is a kid of about 6 — this name's wave is very recent. About 600 people named Bodhi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Bodhi most popular?
Bodhi peaked in 2019, reaching #2561 nationally. Today it ranks #4546, 1,985 places below that high. See the whole 2019 chart.
Where it comes from
From budh to Bodhi
The story of Bodhi
The word is built on waking rather than on learning or achieving, which is the point being made: the tradition describes enlightenment as seeing what was already there rather than acquiring something new. The tree at Bodh Gaya is a descendant of the original by cutting, and the line has been maintained for over two thousand years. Bodhi entered American use in the 1990s and is given to both sexes.
Meaning
awakening, enlightenment
From Sanskrit and Pali bodhi, from budh, to wake up or know; the Buddha is literally the awakened one, from the same root. The tree at Bodh Gaya is the bodhi tree for the same reason.
How the name formed
- budh
- bodhi
Related forms: बोधि · Bodhi · Bodai
Pronouncing Bodhi
BOH-dee
Two syllables, first stressed; the dh is a single aspirated consonant in Sanskrit.
Nicknames for Bodhi
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
- 2005
- Most girls named
- 201968 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2561reached in 2019
- Change vs 2024
- −18.9%30 in 2025, from 37
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.
Bodhi in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- बोधि in Sanskrit — transliteration
- Bodhi in Pali — same name
- Bodai in Japanese — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Colorado.
Bodhis among us
people named Bodhi are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 53,576 born in 2025 was named Bodhi
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Roslynn test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Bodhi's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Roslynn climbed just as high around 1957, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Roslynn's path sketches the road Bodhi is walking now.
Bodhi 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 Bodhi is headed
Bodhi is easing off slowly — about 17% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Bodhi beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Bodhi in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning at the center of a major world tradition.
- Bo is a complete short form with a record of its own.
- Five letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- It names a central religious concept, which some Buddhists consider inappropriate for a person.
- It sounds identical to the English word body to many ears.
- It is used for both sexes, so forms may guess wrong.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Bodhi
Feminine · #4546 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Bodhis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Bodhi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Bodhi in 2025?
- Bodhi ranks #4546 among US girl names in 2025, with 30 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Bodhi?
- About 1 in every 53,576 US girls born in 2025 was named Bodhi — 30 in all.
- Will my child share the name Bodhi with classmates?
- Bodhi will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Bodhi
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Amie#4546 · Rashell#4546 · Renatta#4546 · Raisa#4546 · Amena#4546 · Aryn#4546 · Nadiya#4546 · Jeanne#4546
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Bodhi? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Bodhi and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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