Tulsi
Feminine · “holy basil”
Tulsi is holy basil, and in Hindu households it is not merely a plant — it is grown in a dedicated pot in the courtyard and honored as a form of a goddess.
How old is the name Tulsi?
Tulsi first appears in US birth records in 1987 — 38 years ago. The typical Tulsi alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 600 people named Tulsi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tulsi most popular?
Tulsi peaked in 2024, reaching #4039 nationally. Today it ranks #4067, 28 places below that high. See the whole 2024 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From tulasi to Tulsi
The story of Tulsi
The tulsi plant sits in a raised pot, the tulsi vrindavan, in the courtyards of a great many Hindu homes, watered daily and honored in the evening. Tulsi Vivaha, the ceremonial marriage of the plant to Vishnu, marks the start of the wedding season in November. The plant is also central to Ayurvedic medicine. Its use as a personal name is well established across India.
Meaning
holy basil
From Sanskrit tulasi, the plant Ocimum tenuiflorum; it is treated as a manifestation of the goddess Tulsi or Vrinda and is the only plant with a formal marriage ceremony to a deity in the domestic calendar.
How the name formed
- tulasi
- Tulsi
Related forms: Tulsi · Tulasi · Tulsi
Pronouncing Tulsi
TOOL-see
Two syllables, first stressed. Every letter is sounded.
Nicknames for Tulsi
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
- 1987
- Most girls named
- 202436 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4039reached in 2024
- Change vs 2024
- −2.8%35 in 2025, from 36
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.
Tulsi in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Tulsi in Hindi — transliteration
- Tulasi in Sanskrit — same name
- Tulsi in Nepali — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Tulsis among us
people named Tulsi are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 45,922 born in 2025 was named Tulsi
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 Korri test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Tulsi's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Korri climbed just as high around 1970, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Korri's path sketches the road Tulsi is walking now.
Tulsi 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 Tulsi is headed
Tulsi looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 23% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. 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.
Tulsi beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Tulsi 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 tied to a real plant with an extraordinary domestic role.
- Five letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- Read correctly on sight by most English speakers.
- It is used for both sexes in some regions, so forms may guess wrong.
- The religious standing of the plant is strong and worth understanding before choosing it.
- Outside Indian communities it needs explaining every time.
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What they receive
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Tulsi
Feminine · #4067 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Tulsis 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 Tulsi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Tulsi in 2025?
- Tulsi ranks #4067 among US girl names in 2025, with 35 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Tulsi?
- About 1 in every 45,922 US girls born in 2025 was named Tulsi — 35 in all.
- Will my child share the name Tulsi with classmates?
- Tulsi will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Tulsi
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eli#4067 · Peace#4067 · Medina#4067 · Darlin#4067 · Anja#4067 · Sparrow#4067 · Liani#4067 · Salina#4067
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Tulsi? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Tulsi and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
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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