Navraj
A masculine Hindu name meaning "new ruler" or "young king".
Name Census estimates that about 163 living Americans carry the first name Navraj. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Navraj today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Navraj births was 2014 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Navraj. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Navraj with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
163
~ 1 in 2,102,787 Americans
Peak year
2014
14 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,119
Tracked since 2002
Census
Navraj in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 248 people with the first name Navraj, which placed it at #33,395 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#33,395
National first-name rank
People counted
248
248 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Navraj
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Navraj is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Navraj described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Navraj at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.4% · 239
- Two or more races1.6% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 3
- White0.8% · 2
Popularity
Navraj: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Navraj from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 96 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Navraj remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Navraj by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Navraj during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Navrajs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Navraj
The name Navraj has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that was widely spoken in the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the combination of two words: "Nav" meaning new or fresh, and "Raj" meaning king or ruler. Together, the name Navraj translates to "new king" or "fresh ruler."
In ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Puranas and the Vedas, the name Navraj is often associated with deities, kings, and other powerful figures. It is believed that the name was bestowed upon newborn princes and heirs to the throne, signifying their divine right to rule and the hope for a prosperous and renewed reign.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Navraj can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In this epic, Navraj is mentioned as the name of a warrior prince who fought alongside the Pandava brothers during the great battle of Kurukshetra.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Navraj. One of the most prominent was Navraj Singh Deora, a renowned Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress party. He was born in 1925 and served as a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament, for several terms.
Another famous Navraj was Navraj Singh Gandotra, an Indian cricketer who played for the Indian national team in the 1970s and 1980s. He was born in 1952 and is remembered for his exceptional bowling skills and his contributions to the sport.
In the realm of literature, Navraj Singh Virk was a celebrated Punjabi poet and writer who lived in the 20th century. He was born in 1912 and is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern Punjabi literature.
The name Navraj has also been associated with royalty and noble lineages. One such example is Navraj Singh Jodhpur, a former maharaja of the princely state of Jodhpur in Rajasthan, India. He was born in 1879 and ruled over Jodhpur until his death in 1952.
Another notable bearer of the name was Navraj Singh Ahluwalia, a prominent Indian businessman and industrialist who lived in the late 20th century. He was born in 1944 and played a significant role in the growth and development of various industries in India.
People
Navraj + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Navraj as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Navraj: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Navraj?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 163 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Navraj going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,102,787 US residents.
Is Navraj a common name?
We classify Navraj as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 164 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Navraj most popular?
The single biggest year for Navraj was 2014, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Navraj is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Navraj in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 248 people with the name Navraj, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,395 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Navraj in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Navraj?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Navraj leans strongly male. 234 people counted with this name were male (93.6%), compared with 16 female bearers (6.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Navraj?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Navraj is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Navraj most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Navraj in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.4% (239 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Navraj in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Navraj a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Navraj in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Navraj still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Navraj in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Navraj can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Navraj?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.