Navtej
A masculine Indian name derived from Sanskrit meaning "bright moon".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Navtej. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Navtej today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Navtej births was 2013 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Navtej. 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 Navtej with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Navtej. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2013
7 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2014 SSA rank
#13,437
Tracked since 2013
Census
Navtej in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 208 people with the first name Navtej, which placed it at #37,486 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
#37,486
National first-name rank
People counted
208
208 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Navtej
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Navtej is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.2%. The next largest groups are White (1.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Navtej 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 Navtej at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.2% · 200
- White1.9% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2
- Black or African American0.5% · 1
- Two or more races0.5% · 1
Popularity
Navtej: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Navtej 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 Navtej during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 12 | 0 | 12 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Navtej
Navtej is a name of Indian origin, derived from the Sanskrit words "nav" meaning "new" and "tej" meaning "radiance" or "brilliance." The name is believed to have originated during the ancient Vedic period, around 1500-500 BCE, when Sanskrit was the primary language of the Indian subcontinent.
The name Navtej is often associated with the Sikh faith, as it is a common name among Sikhs. In Sikhism, the name is interpreted as "new light" or "new radiance," symbolizing the spiritual enlightenment and divine knowledge that Sikhs strive for. The name has been mentioned in various Sikh scriptures and historical texts, such as the Guru Granth Sahib and the Suraj Prakash Granth.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Navtej can be traced back to the 16th century, during the reign of the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606). Navtej was a prominent Sikh scholar and poet who contributed to the compilation of the Adi Granth, the holy scripture of Sikhism.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Navtej. Navtej Singh Sarna (1935-2006) was an acclaimed Indian diplomat and author who served as the Indian Ambassador to various countries, including the United States and Israel. Navtej Singh Sidhu (born 1963) is a former Indian cricketer and politician who has served as a member of the Indian Parliament.
Navtej Johar (born 1972) is an Indian fashion designer and entrepreneur, known for her contemporary and sustainable fashion label. Navtej Sarna (born 1957) is an Indian writer, diplomat, and the author of several books, including "The Book of Nanak" and "The Exile."
Navtej Singh Sahni (born 1948) is an Indian physicist and academic who has made significant contributions to the field of condensed matter physics. He has been honored with several prestigious awards, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology.
The name Navtej has been a part of Indian culture and history for centuries, carrying deep spiritual and symbolic significance. It continues to be a popular name among Indian families, particularly among Sikhs, as a representation of their faith and cultural heritage.
People
Navtej + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Navtej 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
Navtej: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Navtej?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Navtej 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Navtej a common name?
We classify Navtej as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Navtej most popular?
The single biggest year for Navtej was 2013, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Navtej is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Navtej in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 208 people with the name Navtej, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,486 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 Navtej 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 Navtej?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Navtej leans strongly male. 193 people counted with this name were male (93.2%), compared with 14 female bearers (6.8%). 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 Navtej?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Navtej is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.2%. The next largest groups are White (1.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Navtej most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Navtej in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (200 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 Navtej in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Navtej a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Navtej 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 Navtej still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Navtej 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 Navtej 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 Navtej?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.