India is a feminine given name derived from the name of the country
India, which itself takes its name from the
Indus River.[1] The name was used for
India Wilkes, a character in the novel and film Gone with the Wind. [2] Its use for girls in
England began during the
British rule in India during the 19th century. It has been used for daughters of
aristocratic families in England that had ties to
Colonial India, such as
India Hicks. It has had an
exotic image in the
Anglosphere and also is similar in sound to other fashionable names such as
Olivia and
Sophia.[3] In more recent years, some critics have viewed use of the name for non-Indian girls as problematic because they say it evokes the
British Raj and
colonialism.[4] Although India is a feminine given name in the world, it is not a popular given name in India.
Usage
The name has been used in the
Anglosphere since at least the 19th century. In the
United States it ranked among the top 1,000 names for girls at different points between 1880 and 1911. It then declined in use but has had renewed popularity beginning in 1970 and was again among the 1,000 most popular names for American girls at different points between 1970 and 2022. It declined in use for American girls in 2023 and was no longer ranked among the top 1,000 names. It has been among the 200 most popular names for girls in the
United Kingdom since 1996 and among the 100 most popular names for girls in
Spain since 2017.[5]
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
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