Raaghav
A masculine name of Indian origin meaning "sun's rays" or "brilliant".
Name Census estimates that about 84 living Americans carry the first name Raaghav. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Raaghav today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raaghav births was 2024 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raaghav. 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 Raaghav with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Raaghav. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
84
~ 1 in 4,080,409 Americans
Peak year
2024
10 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,150
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Raaghav: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raaghav 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 48 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Raaghav remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raaghav 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 Raaghav during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Raaghav
The name Raaghav has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE and was the classical literary language of the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Raghava," which means "descendent of Raghu," a renowned king of the Suryavanshi dynasty.
The name Raaghav finds its earliest mention in the revered Hindu epic, the Ramayana, composed around the 5th century BCE. It is attributed to Lord Rama, the central figure of the epic, who was also known as Raaghav or Raghunath, as he was a descendent of King Raghu.
One of the earliest recorded historical figures with the name Raaghav was Raaghav Chaitanya, a prominent saint and spiritual leader who lived in the 16th century CE. He was a renowned scholar and was known for his teachings on Vaishnavism, a branch of Hinduism that emphasizes devotion to Lord Vishnu.
In the 18th century, Raaghav Bhatta was a celebrated Sanskrit scholar and poet from the region of present-day Maharashtra, India. He is known for his works such as the Raghavapandaviya, a poetic composition that intertwines the stories of Lord Rama and the Pandavas from the Mahabharata.
During the Indian independence movement of the early 20th century, Raaghav Vinayak Dholepatil was a prominent social reformer and activist from Maharashtra. He worked towards the upliftment of underprivileged communities and played a significant role in the non-cooperation movement against British rule.
In more recent times, Raaghav Chadha, born in 1988, is an Indian politician and member of the Aam Aadmi Party. He has served as a member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly and is known for his initiatives in the education sector.
Another notable figure with the name Raaghav is Raaghav Juyal, an Indian dancer and choreographer born in 1986. He is renowned for his contributions to the Indian dance reality show industry and has won several awards for his innovative choreography.
People
Raaghav + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raaghav as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Raaghav: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raaghav?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 84 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raaghav 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 4,080,409 US residents.
Is Raaghav a common name?
We classify Raaghav as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 85 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raaghav most popular?
The single biggest year for Raaghav was 2024, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raaghav is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Raaghav in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raaghav a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raaghav 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 Raaghav still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raaghav 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 Raaghav 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Raaghav?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.