Kanya
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- KUN-yuh
- Origin
- Sanskrit
Kanya is a girls' name of Sanskrit origin, meaning “girl, maiden”. Too few babies were given it in the latest year to rank.
What does Kanya mean?
Sanskrit: from Sanskrit kanya
“girl, maiden”
From Sanskrit kanya, meaning girl or maiden, which is also the Sanskrit name of the zodiac sign Virgo.
Is Kanya a girl's or a boy's name?
Kanya is a girls' name.
How popular is Kanya in the US?
No girls in the US were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2007, with 46 girls. It first appears in the records in 1972.
Half of all the girls named Kanya in the US since 1880 were born between 1993 and 2008, the years shaded on the chart below.
Girls were 55% of the babies named Kanya in the US in 2004, and 86% in 2006.
Kanya in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 7 | #12,192 |
| 2022 | 8 | #11,225 |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 9 | #10,245 |
| 2019 | 8 | #11,350 |
| 2018 | 7 | #12,459 |
| 2017 | 7 | #12,709 |
| 2016 | 6 | #14,326 |
| 2015 | 5 | #16,413 |
| 2014 | 8 | #11,925 |
| 2013 | 10 | #10,230 |
| 2012 | 8 | #12,193 |
| 2011 | 13 | #8,610 |
| 2010 | 14 | #8,267 |
| 2009 | 19 | #6,808 |
| 2008 | 28 | #5,140 |
| 2007 | 46 | #3,530 |
| 2006 | 31 | #4,575 |
| 2005 | 39 | #3,726 |
| 2004 | 24 | #5,204 |
| 2003 | 27 | #4,663 |
| 2002 | 29 | #4,276 |
| 2001 | 19 | #5,817 |
| 2000 | 24 | #4,786 |
| 1999 | 11 | #8,216 |
| 1998 | 14 | #6,714 |
| 1997 | 8 | #9,797 |
| 1996 | 6 | #11,801 |
| 1995 | 7 | #10,509 |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 8 | #9,552 |
| 1992 | 8 | #9,483 |
| 1991 | 7 | #10,263 |
| 1990 | 5 | #12,952 |
| 1989 | 7 | #9,675 |
| 1988 | 10 | #7,106 |
| 1987 | 6 | #9,820 |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 5 | #10,272 |
| 1982 | 6 | #9,235 |
| 1981 | 5 | #10,409 |
| 1980 | 6 | #9,093 |
| 1979 | 8 | #7,311 |
| 1978 | 6 | #8,560 |
| 1977 | 13 | #4,941 |
| 1976 | 15 | #4,152 |
| 1975 | 12 | #4,852 |
| 1974 | 10 | #5,359 |
| 1973 | 8 | #6,078 |
| 1972 | 6 | #7,290 |
Names like Kanya
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kavya, Priya, Anya, Krisha, Navya, Arya, Isha, Vanya, Aarya, Shreya, Aanya, Dhara
Names related to Kanya
More Sanskrit names
Maya, Bodhi, Lila, Arjun, Aarav, Rohan, Kali, Aryan, Opal, Arjan, Vihaan, Aadhya, Avyaan, Ishaan, Siya, Leena
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Kanya: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kanya, updated 20 October 2026.