Nirav
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "peaceful" or "serene".
Name Census estimates that about 516 living Americans carry the first name Nirav. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nirav today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nirav births was 1984 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nirav. 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.
People living today
516
~ 1 in 664,253 Americans
Peak year
1984
21 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,888
Tracked since 1972
Popularity
Nirav: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nirav from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 158 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nirav 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 Nirav during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Niravs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Illinois, New Jersey, California recorded the most babies named Nirav, while Texas, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nirav
The name Nirav has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient language of the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit words "nir" meaning "out" or "away", and "ava" meaning "to obtain" or "to get". Thus, the name Nirav can be interpreted as "one who obtains" or "one who achieves".
In Hindu mythology, Nirav is believed to be a name associated with Lord Vishnu, one of the principal deities of Hinduism. This name is mentioned in various ancient Hindu scriptures, including the Puranas and the Vedas. It is also found in some historical records from the Indian subcontinent, dating back to the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nirav can be found in the 10th century CE, when a Hindu scholar and poet named Nirav Pandita lived in the region of present-day Gujarat, India. He is known for his contributions to Sanskrit literature and his works on grammar and poetry.
Another notable figure with the name Nirav was Nirav Shah, a 16th-century Hindu philosopher and spiritual leader from the Rajput community in India. He is credited with establishing a religious movement known as the Niravadvaita, which emphasized the unity of all beings and the importance of self-realization.
In more recent history, Nirav Modi, a famous Indian jeweler and businessman, gained notoriety for his involvement in a multi-billion dollar fraud case in India. Born in 1961, he founded the Diamond Empire, a prominent diamond trading and manufacturing company, but was later accused of defrauding banks and fled to the United Kingdom.
Other notable individuals with the name Nirav include Nirav Tolia, an American entrepreneur and co-founder of the social networking platform Nextdoor, born in 1978. Nirav Chokshi, an Indian-American journalist and writer, born in 1983, is also known for his work at various publications, including The New York Times.
Nirav Sheth, born in 1976, is an Indian-American entrepreneur and investor, best known for co-founding the online payment platform Upwork. He has played a significant role in the growth of the gig economy and remote work.
People
Nirav + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nirav 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
Nirav: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nirav?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 516 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nirav 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 664,253 US residents.
Is Nirav a common name?
We classify Nirav as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 533 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nirav most popular?
The single biggest year for Nirav was 1984, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nirav is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nirav a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nirav 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.
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.