Indiana
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Meaning
land of the Indians (US state name, from Latin India + -ana); immortalized by Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
The story
Indiana is a place name first, coined from Latin to mean land of the Indians, and for decades it drifted along the edges of American baby records before disappearing from them entirely at midcentury. Then in 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark introduced Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford's whip-cracking archaeologist, and the name promptly reappeared in the records that same decade; we cannot prove the film did it, but the timing is hard to ignore. George Lucas, famously, borrowed the name from his own dog. Since the 2000s Indiana has held a small, steady presence, used for boys and girls alike, still uncommon enough to feel like a find. It is a rare kind of name, a map word turned movie legend, carrying dusty fedora romance and open-road Americana in roughly equal measure.
How popular is Indiana around the world?
In the United States, 1,012 babies were named Indiana between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 10 girls were registered as Indiana in 2017.
Indiana is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Argentina, Montevideo, England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, France, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 22,000
In the United States, 1,012 babies were named Indiana between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Indiana peaked in the 2000s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 1,7002017
In South Australia, 10 girls were registered as Indiana in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Argentina
1 in 3,300
In Argentina, 201 newborns were given the name Indiana in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Montevideo City
1 in 8,2002011
In Montevideo, 3 girls named Indiana were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
England and Wales
1 in 9,600
In England and Wales, 44 girls named Indiana were born in 2025, the 816th most common name among girls that year.
In England and Wales, 17 boys named Indiana were born in 2025, ranked 1,538th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 18,000
In Ireland, 3 girls named Indiana were born in 2025, the 885th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Canada
1 in 22,000
In Canada, 17 girls named Indiana were born in 2024, ranked 1,399th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
France
1 in 64,000
In France, about 10 girls named Indiana were born in 2025, ranked 2,978th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Spain
1 in 120,000
In Spain, 365 residents are named Indiana, ranked 2,844th among women, with a mean age of 9.7 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
1 in 140,000
At the 2022 census, 1,324 people in Brazil were named Indiana, ranked 6,854th, with a median age of 31.
Among people named Indiana living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Indiana is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2024
Indiana is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
last on record 2021
Indiana is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Mexico City, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Indiana
Most people given the name Indiana 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.
Keep exploring
The Indiana deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Indiana 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 Indiana fits with your family’s names and surname.
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