Given name & surname
India
“from the river; woman from India”
India draws on the place name and also has a twentieth-century literary association.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the river; woman from India.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
From Latin India, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδία, built from Ancient Greek Ἰνδός + -ῐ́ᾱ.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
A character in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind bears India as a first name, which may have encouraged its wider use. India Hicks’s family chose her name to reflect their association with India.
India through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 24,017
- 27 boys · 23,990 girls
- Most popular year
- 2001
- 1,049 babies
- 2025
- 118
- #1,722 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −26%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 118 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,722 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 26.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,049 in 2001. In 2025, Florida had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (14). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 18,045 as a first name in 2020; 162 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
India’s family of names
In English usage, India has a related form in Sandip. India has a related form in Indya. In English usage, India has a related form in SUNDEEP.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Indyvariant
- Indivariant
- Indyavariant
- Indeevariant
- Sundeepvariant · English
- Sandipvariant · English
- Indavariant
- Indiyavariant
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named India
- India EisleyAmerican actressborn 1993
- India AllenAmerican model and actressborn 1965
- India HairFrench actressborn 1987
- India de BeaufortBritish actressborn 1987
- India AmarteifioBritish actressborn 2001
- India HicksBritish writer, interior designer and former fashion modelborn 1967
- India Fowleractressborn 2003
- India EnnengaAmerican actressborn 1994
- India SardjoeDutch breakdancerborn 2006
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love India, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sydney
“of the wide meadow”
2% boys · 98% girls
Ainsley
“one's own meadow”
1% boys · 99% girls
Savannah
“from the open, grassy plain”
>99% girls
Coral
Coral is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “resembling the semiprecious sea growth; from the reef.”
>99% girls
Gardenia
“resembling the sweetsmelling flower”
>99% girls
Camber
“resembling the jewe!” · “resembling the jewel; a warm honey color”
15% boys · 85% girls
Autumn
“born in the fall”
>99% girls
Hadley
“from the field of heather” · “from the heather meadow”
1% boys · 99% girls