Fun Facts About the Name Indra
- 943 babies named Indra: U.S. records list 943 babies given the name Indra from 1880 through 2025. Even 130 boys received the name Indra - about 1 boy for every 6 girls.
What Does the Name Indra Mean?
Indra is a Sanskrit name, the name of the Hindu god of thunder and rain, who is also a war god and the king of the gods. Its literal origin is debated, and no single explanation is certain. The word belongs to the oldest layer of Sanskrit, the language of the Vedic hymns, where it already serves as the god's name.
Two explanations are usually offered. One connects Indra with a root understood as "to be strong" or "to have power," giving a sense like "the powerful one." The other connects it with Sanskrit indu, "a drop," especially a drop of soma or rain, giving "possessor of drops." The two proposed roots are close in form, and scholars have not settled which, if either, is correct.
The name's use is not in doubt. It belongs to the Vedic storm god who wields the thunderbolt and is called king of the gods. Epithets attached to him, such as Śakra ("the mighty") and Vṛtrahan ("slayer of Vṛtra"), describe his role; they are not separate meanings of the name.
Indra Name History & Origins
Indra is named in the Rig Veda, the oldest collection of Sanskrit hymns, where he is invoked more often than any other deity. Those hymns praise him as the wielder of the vajra, the thunderbolt, and as the god who strikes the serpent Vṛtra and releases the rivers. From that Vedic poetry the name passed into later Hindu texts, the epics and the Puranas, where Indra rules the heavens as king of the devas but is often shown as a lesser figure beside gods such as Vishnu and Shiva.
The name also crossed into other traditions. In Zoroastrian texts, Indra is listed among the daevas, the demons, a sign of the old split between the Iranian and Indian religious worlds. In Buddhist literature he appears as Śakra, king of the gods, and in that role he traveled with Buddhism into East and Southeast Asia; in Thai he is Phra In.
As a personal name, Indra is used mainly in South and Southeast Asia. It is a common given name for boys in India and Nepal, and it is also common in Indonesia, where it reflects the Hindu-Buddhist past of Java and Bali. Longer personal names such as Indrajit ("conqueror of Indra") show the god's name built into compounds. A feminine name Indra is also used in Latvia, generally treated as separate from the Sanskrit name.
How Popular is the Name Indra?
Indra has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2015. Its best rank was #3,389 in 1967.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #9,713 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #10,559 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #8,660 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #7,412 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2021 | #6,504 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 2020 | #4,803 | 27 | 0.0017% |
| 2019 | #6,831 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2018 | #6,111 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2017 | #6,137 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2016 | #6,049 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2015 | #4,905 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 2014 | #9,190 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2013 | #7,916 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2012 | #9,309 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2011 | #9,973 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2010 | #7,663 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2009 | #9,086 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2008 | #10,345 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #7,864 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2006 | #6,687 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2005 | #7,270 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2004 | #8,906 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2003 | #6,998 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2002 | #14,264 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2001 | #6,741 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2000 | #6,939 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1999 | #8,434 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1998 | #5,893 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1997 | #6,287 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1996 | #7,780 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1995 | #7,214 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1994 | #7,275 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1993 | #11,002 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1992 | #14,071 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1991 | #8,858 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #8,099 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1989 | #8,291 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1988 | #10,848 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #7,589 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1986 | #11,579 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #4,931 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1984 | #5,316 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1983 | #5,578 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1982 | #9,636 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1981 | #5,370 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1980 | #6,464 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1979 | #9,403 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1978 | #7,195 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1977 | #4,500 | 15 | 0.0010% |
| 1976 | #7,583 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1975 | #3,831 | 17 | 0.0012% |
| 1974 | #4,551 | 13 | 0.0009% |
| 1973 | #5,730 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1972 | #6,163 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1971 | #4,389 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1970 | #7,396 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #5,186 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1968 | #3,679 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1967 | #3,389 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1966 | #5,030 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1965 | #6,072 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #7,159 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #4,369 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1961 | #6,951 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1957 | #6,455 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1956 | #5,023 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1955 | #6,198 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1954 | #6,083 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1951 | #4,550 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #6,597 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2024 | #5,736 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2023 | #7,059 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #6,610 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2021 | #7,287 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2020 | #9,026 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2019 | #6,556 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #10,069 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2017 | #10,113 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2015 | #12,813 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #12,861 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2012 | #12,976 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #12,987 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1998 | #10,238 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #9,397 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Indra Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. You like to use the pen or the needle (writing, fashion design etc). You are loving, compassionate, intuitive and humanitarian. Runs of luck, either good or bad, follow you. You are sympathetic, but at times might be touchy and oversensitive. You may have a gift for writing. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Indra's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Indra's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.