Fun Facts About the Name Mitra
- 595 babies named Mitra: U.S. records list 595 babies given the name Mitra from 1880 through 2025. Even 5 boys received the name Mitra - about 1 boy for every 118 girls.
What Does the Name Mitra Mean?
Mitra is a name from Sanskrit, where mitra (मित्र) means "friend." The same word also carries the sense of "contract" or "covenant," a meaning preserved in the closely related Avestan mithra. Both go back to an Indo-Iranian form reconstructed as *mitra-, whose earlier Indo-European root is disputed. One proposed source is a root meaning "to bind" (seen in the Sanskrit verb minoti, "fastens, fixes"), which would make a friend literally someone bound by an agreement; another connects it to a root meaning "to exchange," the ancestor of Latin mūtāre, "to change." Under either explanation the word ties friendship to a mutual, formal bond rather than to affection alone.
The Iranian forms Mithra and Mihr are cognates from the same Indo-Iranian word, not ancestors of the Sanskrit name. Mitra also appears as a short form of the unrelated Greek name Dimitra, a separate development.
Mitra Name History & Origins
Mitra was the name of a Vedic god who appears in the Rigveda, most often paired with Varuna. Together they guarded ṛta, the ordered course of things, and Mitra's particular concerns were oaths, treaties, and the keeping of agreements - an extension of the word's basic sense of a binding contract. In later Hindu tradition he is counted among the Adityas, a group of solar deities, and is sometimes described as a guardian of one of the directions.
The Iranian branch of the same tradition produced Avestan Mithra, a yazata of covenant and light praised in the Mihr Yasht; Middle Persian Mihr continues that form. The Roman mystery cult of Mithras drew on Iranian Mithra worship, though how directly that transmission occurred is still debated by historians.
As a personal name, Mitra is used in South Asia as both a given name and a surname, the surname being well established in Bengal. In Iran, Mitra is a familiar feminine given name - the same word in origin as the ancient god, but different in gender. The Buddhist name Maitreya comes from the related Sanskrit noun maitrī, "loving-kindness."
How Popular is the Name Mitra?
Mitra 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 1988. Its best rank was #3,606 in 1971.
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 | #11,605 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #9,993 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #16,817 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2022 | #11,894 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2021 | #10,846 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #8,772 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2019 | #10,252 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2018 | #13,377 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2017 | #11,326 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2016 | #9,877 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2015 | #11,559 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2014 | #12,724 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2013 | #12,793 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #10,996 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2011 | #12,997 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #9,621 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2009 | #13,302 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2008 | #9,899 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #13,518 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2006 | #13,221 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2005 | #10,677 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2004 | #8,579 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2003 | #7,468 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2002 | #8,155 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2001 | #9,870 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #12,703 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1999 | #10,066 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1998 | #9,061 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1997 | #15,334 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #6,906 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1993 | #9,256 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1992 | #6,915 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1991 | #5,852 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1990 | #8,301 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1989 | #7,287 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1988 | #4,430 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1987 | #5,005 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1986 | #4,666 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1985 | #8,046 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1984 | #5,764 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1983 | #5,051 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1982 | #7,954 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1981 | #6,174 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1980 | #5,440 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1979 | #7,778 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #5,432 | 12 | 0.0008% |
| 1977 | #9,226 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #8,846 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1975 | #8,672 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1974 | #5,622 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1973 | #7,157 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1972 | #9,134 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1971 | #3,606 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 1970 | #7,670 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #5,807 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1968 | #6,753 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1967 | #5,858 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1966 | #7,283 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #5,832 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1962 | #7,239 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #7,227 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | #12,132 | 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 Mitra Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have psychic power. You can carry on for others with joy. You have a receptive nature and may bear burdens for others. You are pragmatic, thorough, strong-willed, practical and stubborn at times. You are hard working, often martyr to duty. You like home and security above all. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Mitra's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Mitra's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.