Bodhi
Meaning
awakening, enlightenment; the tree under which the Buddha awakened
The story
Bodhi is Sanskrit for awakening, the enlightenment the Buddha reached beneath the tree that now carries the word as its name, and American parents have carried it from surf shops to strollers in one generation. The record shows the arrival: about 160 in the 1990s, the decade a beach-robbing guru wore it in a cult surf film, then 800 in the 2000s, 6,600 in the 2010s, and already 7,300 so far this decade, past the full 2010s with years to run. Decade buckets point, they do not convict. It rides the mindfulness current that also lifted Zen and Sage, names borrowed from practice rather than scripture. In our records it goes mostly to boys, about 14,300 to 560. A tree, an awakening, and a very good wave: the name offers all three readings and lets the family pick their sermon.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Bodhi peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
When you meet Bodhi
Most people given the name Bodhi in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Bodhi deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Bodhi truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Bodhi fits with your family’s names and surname.
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