Radha
A feminine given name of Sanskrit origin meaning "prosperity" or "success".
Name Census estimates that about 901 living Americans carry the first name Radha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Radha today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Radha births was 2024 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Radha. 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
901
~ 1 in 380,415 Americans
Peak year
2024
42 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,676
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Radha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Radha from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 249 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Radha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Radha 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 Radha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Radhas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, New Jersey, New York recorded the most babies named Radha, while Pennsylvania, Texas, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Radha
The name Radha has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language from the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the word 'radh', which means to worship, succeed, or accomplish. The name has been in use since ancient times and is associated with Hindu mythology.
Radha is best known as the name of the chief devotee and consort of Lord Krishna, who is revered as an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. The love between Radha and Krishna is celebrated in many religious texts, including the Bhagavata Purana, Gita Govinda, and various folk songs and poetry. Their relationship is often interpreted as a metaphor for the soul's longing for divine union.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Radha can be found in the Harivamsa, an ancient Sanskrit text that is an appendix to the Mahabharata epic. The Radha-Krishna love story is also central to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism, particularly in the Gaudiya Vaishnavism sect founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the 16th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Radha. One of the earliest was Radha Mohan Thakur (1669-1711), a Bengali Vaishnava saint and philosopher who wrote extensively on the philosophy of the Gaudiya Vaishnavism sect. Another prominent figure was Radha Charan Das (1718-1811), a Vaishnava saint and poet who composed numerous devotional songs and poems.
In more recent times, Radha Gobinda Kar (1887-1976) was a renowned Indian historian and archaeologist who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Indian history and culture. Radha Binod Pal (1886-1967) was a prominent Indian lawyer and jurist who served as a judge at the International Court of Justice.
Radha Kumud Mookerji (1884-1964) was an Indian writer and historian who authored several books on Indian history and culture, including the classic work 'Hindu Civilization'. Radha Reddy (1937-1994) was an Indian social activist and politician who fought for the rights of marginalized communities.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Radha, a name that holds deep cultural and religious significance in various regions of the Indian subcontinent.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Radha
People
Radha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Radha 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
Radha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Radha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 901 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Radha 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 380,415 US residents.
Is Radha a common name?
We classify Radha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 924 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Radha most popular?
The single biggest year for Radha was 2024, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Radha is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Radha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Radha in the SSA data are female. 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.