Nirvana
Feminine · “extinguishing”
Nirvana is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 1,634 girls against 12 boys since 1880.
Nirvana means blowing out in Sanskrit — a lamp going out for want of fuel — not bliss, which is the English misunderstanding.
How old is the name Nirvana?
Nirvana first appears in US birth records in 1973 — 52 years ago. The typical Nirvana is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,600 people named Nirvana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nirvana most popular?
Nirvana peaked in 2022, reaching #1763 nationally. Today it ranks #2410, 647 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From nir va to Nirvana
The story of Nirvana
Buddhist texts use the image of a lamp whose oil has run out rather than one snuffed — the fire stops because nothing sustains it. English borrowed the word in the nineteenth century and made it a synonym for bliss, which reverses the point. Nirvana appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
extinguishing, blowing out
From the Sanskrit nirvana — nir, 'out', and va, 'to blow'. The Buddhist sense is the ending of craving, imagined as a flame ceasing because nothing feeds it. English use as 'bliss' loses the metaphor. The Sanskrit is documented.
How the name formed
- nir va
- nirvana
- Nirvana
Related forms: निर्वाण · Nibbana
Pronouncing Nirvana
nir-VAH-nuh
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Sanskrit gives the r a vocalic quality English lacks.
Nicknames for Nirvana
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
- 2022117 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1763reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- −14.0%74 in 2025, from 86
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.
Nirvana in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- निर्वाण in Sanskrit — transliteration
- Nibbana in Pali — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Nirvanas among us
people named Nirvana are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 21,720 born in 2025 was named Nirvana
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 Nubia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nirvana's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Nubia climbed just as high around 1993, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Nubia's path sketches the road Nirvana is walking now.
Nirvana 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 Nirvana is headed
Nirvana should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Nirvana beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nirvana in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That nirvana is a lamp going out rather than a state of bliss is a first-rate correction.
- The metaphor is precise and genuinely beautiful.
- Three syllables of open vowels, which carries unusually well.
- The English sense of the word is a misunderstanding of it.
- A rock band is a strong association for many.
- It is a religious technical term and carries weight.
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What they receive
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Nirvana
Feminine · #2410 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nirvanas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,600 people named Nirvana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nirvana in 2025?
- Nirvana ranks #2410 among US girl names in 2025, with 74 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nirvana?
- About 1 in every 21,720 US girls born in 2025 was named Nirvana — 74 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nirvana with classmates?
- Nirvana will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nirvana
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ayda#2410 · Laina#2410 · Leana#2410 · Sanvi#2410 · Terra#2410 · Sullivan#2410 · Natalya#2410 · Layken#2410
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nirvana? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nirvana and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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