JPN data
Names in the JPN 'India' table
Eight decades of registered names, 1940s to 2010s: who was number 1, how endings changed, and where the names come from.
- No. 1 boy 1940s
- Subramaniam
- No. 1 boy 2010s
- Sharvin
- Girls’ -i ending, 2010s
- 85%
- Names in Tamil script
- 234
Number 1 each decade
Subramaniam led the boys' table in the 1940s; by the 2010s it was Sharvin. For girls, Muniamah gave way to Harshini.
The -i ending on girls’ names
Names ending in -i (Santhi, Shalini, Harshini) rose from 0% to 85% of the girls' top-10 total. Older spellings ending in -y, -ah or -ee (Letchumy, Muniamah, Mariayee) fell from 81% to 0%.
| Decade | -i ending |
|---|---|
| 1940 | 0 |
| 1950 | 6 |
| 1960 | 47 |
| 1970 | 40 |
| 1980 | 49 |
| 1990 | 52 |
| 2000 | 54 |
| 2010 | 85 |
The -an and -am endings on boys’ names
Names such as Saravanan and Subramaniam peaked at 80% in the 1960s, then 33% in the 2010s, as Dinesh and Sharvin took the lead.
| Decade | -an/-am ending |
|---|---|
| 1940 | 65 |
| 1950 | 75 |
| 1960 | 80 |
| 1970 | 58 |
| 1980 | 57 |
| 1990 | 66 |
| 2000 | 28 |
| 2010 | 33 |
Tamil and Sanskrit origins
Each name counts under every origin recorded on its page, so the order of the origin list does not change the chart. Boys' names that record Tamil (alone or with Sanskrit) made up 95% of the 1940s total and 0% in the 2010s. For girls, names that record Sanskrit (alone or with Tamil) went from 86% to 100%.
- Tamil only
- Tamil and Sanskrit
- Sanskrit only
- Other or no recorded origin
Show the table
| Decade | Tamil only | Tamil and Sanskrit | Sanskrit only | Other or no recorded origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 20% | 75% | 0% | 4.8% |
| 1950 | 14% | 77% | 0% | 8.6% |
| 1960 | 13% | 74% | 14% | 0% |
| 1970 | 24% | 51% | 25% | 0% |
| 1980 | 15% | 47% | 38% | 0% |
| 1990 | 0% | 66% | 34% | 0% |
| 2000 | 0% | 20% | 57% | 23% |
| 2010 | 0% | 0% | 57% | 43% |
- Tamil only
- Tamil and Sanskrit
- Sanskrit only
Show the table
| Decade | Tamil only | Tamil and Sanskrit | Sanskrit only |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 14% | 60% | 26% |
| 1950 | 11% | 30% | 59% |
| 1960 | 7% | 25% | 68% |
| 1970 | 6.5% | 41% | 52% |
| 1980 | 0% | 65% | 35% |
| 1990 | 0% | 53% | 47% |
| 2000 | 0% | 17% | 83% |
| 2010 | 0% | 17% | 83% |
Tamil letter index
234 names have a recorded Tamil-script spelling: 141 boys, 81 girls and 12 unisex. Pick a first letter.
JPN via data.gov.my (CC BY 4.0): the top 10 first names for each sex and decade, as published; one "first name" can be two words. "India" is the table's name, not a description of anyone.
Frequently asked questions
What is the JPN 'India' table?
One of the three popular-name tables JPN publishes via data.gov.my, with the top 10 first names for each sex and decade. "India" is the table's name; we never use it to describe anyone.
Why shares, not counts?
Top-10 totals differ a lot between decades. The 2010s boys' total is only 767, for example, so we compare each name's share of that decade's total.
How is a name’s origin decided?
From every language of origin recorded on that name’s page, whatever their order. Names that record both Tamil and Sanskrit (Subramaniam and Krishnan, for example) have their own category, "Tamil and Sanskrit". Names without a sourced meaning, or without a page, count as "other or no recorded origin"; we do not guess.
Are names outside the table missing from the data?
Names outside the top 10 have no JPN figure, and we do not estimate one.