Kanishka
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- kuh-NISH-kuh
Kanishka is a girls' name. Too few babies were given it in the latest year to rank.
What does Kanishka mean?
Name of the Kushan emperor Kanishka, in Sanskrit Kaniṣka
Kanishka was a Kushan emperor of the 2nd century CE, remembered as a patron of Buddhism.
Is Kanishka a girl's or a boy's name?
Kanishka is a girls' name.
How popular is Kanishka in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2012, with 8 girls.
Half of all the girls named Kanishka in the UK since 1996 were born between 2010 and 2016, the years shaded on the chart below.
Kanishka in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4 | #4,915 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 4 | #4,744 |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 5 | #4,250 |
| 2016 | 3 | #6,009 |
| 2015 | 8 | #3,114 |
| 2014 | 4 | #4,888 |
| 2013 | 6 | #3,719 |
| 2012 | 8 | #3,148 |
| 2011 | 5 | #4,244 |
| 2010 | 6 | #3,715 |
| 2009 | 4 | #4,795 |
| 2008 | 6 | #3,589 |
Names like Kanishka
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Prisha, Krisha, Anvika, Aisha, Akshara, Saanvika, Saanvi, Advika, Divisha, Arisha, Hanvika, Kavya
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Kanishka: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kanishka, updated 20 October 2026.