Vikas
Masculine · Sanskrit roots · “blossoming”
Vikas is the Sanskrit vikasa, a word that first described a flower opening and now, in Hindi, means development in the modern, economic sense. India's space program gave the name to a rocket engine, spelled out of the initials of the physicist who founded that program.
How old is the name Vikas?
Vikas first appears in US birth records in 1970 — 55 years ago. The typical Vikas alive today was born around 1989, making them about 36 years old. About 500 people named Vikas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Vikas most popular?
Vikas peaked in 1983, reaching #2272 nationally. See the whole 1983 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From vikasa (Sanskrit) to Vikas
The story of Vikas
In classical Sanskrit vikasa is the opening of a bud and, by extension, any unfolding or expansion. Modern Hindi took it as its standard word for development, so the syllables that describe a lotus opening also describe a new road or a growing economy. The Vikas liquid-fuel engine, which powers stages of India's PSLV and GSLV rockets, takes its name from the initials of Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, the physicist remembered as the father of the Indian space program.
Meaning
blossoming; expansion, development (Sanskrit)
From Sanskrit vikasa, 'opening, expanding,' used of buds unfolding. Modern Hindi uses vikas for development.
How the name formed
- vikasaSanskrit
- Vikas
Pronouncing Vikas
vih-KAHS
Two syllables with a long a in the second. English speakers often say VEE-kus.
Nicknames for Vikas
Limited
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
- 1970
- Most boys named
- 198322 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2272reached in 1983
- Change vs 2012
- 0.0%9 in 2013, from 9
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.
Vikass among us
people named Vikas are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Vikas sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- A clear meaning: blossoming, and development.
- Short and easy to spell.
- Linked to a well-known engine of India's space program.
- Hindi speakers hear the ordinary word for development as much as the name.
- The v is often said close to a w in Hindi-speaking families and as a firm v in American English, so two pronunciations will circulate.
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Vikas
Masculine · Sanskrit roots
Frequently asked
- How many Vikass are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Vikas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Vikas in 2025?
- Vikas is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Vikas with classmates?
- Vikas will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More V names
The most-given names starting with V, all years combined.
Vincent#107 · Victor#209 · Vernon#1382 · Virgil#1409 · Van#970 · Vance#1075 · Vicente#589 · Vaughn#1152
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Vikas? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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