Usha is from the Sanskrit *uṣas* (dawn). **A modern American baby name in the broader Indian-heritage aesthetic**. **Usha in Hindu mythology** — the foundational Hindu goddess of dawn; daughter of Dyaus (sky god); sister of the night goddess Ratri; appears throughout the *Rigveda* — Usha Sukta (Rigveda 1.48 and 1.92) hymns celebrate her arrival as the renewing principle of creation; one of the most-celebrated cosmological figures in Vedic Hinduism; cognate with the Greek Eos and Roman Aurora; one of the foundational Indo-European feminine divinities. **Usha Vance (Usha Bala Chilukuri Vance, born 1986)** — American attorney; **Second Lady of the United States (since January 2025)** — wife of US Vice President JD Vance; **first Indian-American Second Lady in US history**; first practicing Hindu Second Lady; Yale Law School clerk to US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh (when he was on the DC Circuit) and Chief Justice John Roberts; one of the most-prominent Indian-American women in modern US politics. **Usha Uthup (born 1947)** — Indian singer; 4 decades of Bollywood and global pop performances; Padma Bhushan (2024). **Usha Nadkarni** — Indian Marathi actress. **PT Usha (Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha, born 1964)** — Indian Olympic sprinter; "Payyoli Express"; 4-time Asian Games gold medalist; 1984 Los Angeles Olympic 400m hurdles 4th place finish (lost by 1/100 second).
Featured throughout Hindu tradition and modern American politics.
Usha reduces to one.