Nandini
Feminine · “Delightful one”
Nandini is a word for delight itself, and it does several jobs at once in Sanskrit: it is a daughter, it is the wish-granting cow of the sage Vasishtha, and it is one of the names of the Ganges. Few names carry three such different things without strain.
How old is the name Nandini?
Nandini first appears in US birth records in 1973 — 52 years ago. The typical Nandini alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 900 people named Nandini are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nandini most popular?
Nandini peaked in 2006, reaching #3017 nationally. Today it ranks #5238, 2,221 places below that high. See the whole 2006 chart.
Where it comes from
From nandinī to Nandini
The story of Nandini
Nandini appears in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata as Vasishtha's cow, whose power to grant every wish is at the center of the story of Vishvamitra — a king who tried to take her by force and, failing, gave up his throne to become a sage. The same word serves as an epithet of the Ganges and as the ordinary Sanskrit word for a daughter. It has been an established Indian given name for a very long time and is used across Hindi-, Bengali-, Tamil- and Kannada-speaking families. American records carry it from the 1970s with Indian migration, with a modest peak in 2006 that tracks the community's growth rather than any single bearer.
Meaning
Delightful one; daughter
From Sanskrit nandinī, feminine of nandin, from the root nand, to rejoice or delight. The word means one who delights, and by extension a daughter. It is separately the name of the wish-fulfilling cow given to the sage Vasishtha and a name of the river Ganges. All three uses are attested in classical Sanskrit and the etymology is not in dispute.
How the name formed
- nandinī
- Nandini
Related forms: नन्दिनी · नंदिनी · নন্দিনী · ನಂದಿನಿ
Pronouncing Nandini
NAN-dee-nee
Three syllables, stress on the first. The Sanskrit d is dental, made with the tongue against the teeth, which English replaces with its own alveolar d; the difference is audible to Indian ears and to nobody else.
Nicknames for Nandini
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
- 1973
- Most girls named
- 200656 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3017reached in 2006
- Change vs 2024
- +60.0%24 in 2025, from 15
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.
Nandini in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- नन्दिनी in Sanskrit — transliteration
- नंदिनी in Hindi — transliteration
- নন্দিনী in Bengali — transliteration
- ನಂದಿನಿ in Kannada — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New Jersey.
Nandinis among us
people named Nandini are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 66,969 born in 2025 was named Nandini
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 Falyn test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nandini's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Falyn climbed just as high around 1982, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Falyn's path sketches the road Nandini is walking now.
Nandini 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
Nandini beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nandini in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, ancient and genuinely lovely.
- Nandu and Dini are both warm short forms.
- Every sound in it can be made by an English speaker without instruction.
- It is unfamiliar outside Indian communities and will be spelled out.
- Nandini and Nandani both appear in transliteration.
- Three syllables of similar weight can be flattened by English speakers.
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What they receive
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Nandini
Feminine · #5238 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nandinis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Nandini are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nandini in 2025?
- Nandini ranks #5238 among US girl names in 2025, with 24 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nandini?
- About 1 in every 66,969 US girls born in 2025 was named Nandini — 24 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nandini with classmates?
- Nandini will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nandini
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Irena#5238 · Esma#5238 · Dagny#5238 · Venice#5238 · Lisbeth#5238 · Loralie#5238 · Alania#5238 · Erma#5238
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nandini? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nandini and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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