Rahja
A feminine name of African origin, meaning "traveler" or "seeker".
Name Census estimates that about 13 living Americans carry the first name Rahja. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 53.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Rahja today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rahja births was 2000 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rahja. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rahja. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
13
~ 1 in 26,365,718 Americans
Peak year
2000
7 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2000 SSA rank
#8,918
Tracked since 1996
Gender
Gender distribution for Rahja
Rahja is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 13 total registrations, 7 (53.8%) were male and 6 (46.2%) were female.
Rahja as a male name
- Ranked #8,918 in 2000
- 7 male births in 2000
- Peak: 2000 (7 births)
Rahja as a female name
- Ranked #13,055 in 1996
- 6 female births in 1996
- Peak: 1996 (6 births)
Popularity
Rahja: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rahja from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 7 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rahja 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 Rahja 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 Rahja
The name Rahja is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages spoken in ancient India. The name is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "rajah," which means "king" or "ruler." This suggests that the name may have been associated with royalty or nobility in its early usage.
In ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Vedas and Puranas, the term "rajah" is frequently used to refer to kings, princes, or other influential rulers. It is possible that the name Rahja was initially given to children born into royal families or those with a high social standing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rahja can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, which dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In this epic, there is a character named Rahja, who was a prince and the son of King Drupada.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Rahja. One prominent figure was Rahja Devi, a Indian queen who ruled the Kingdom of Garhwal in the 17th century. She is renowned for her bravery and military prowess, having led her armies in battles against the Mughals.
Another notable Rahja was Rahja Singh, a Hindu ruler who governed the princely state of Kutch in the late 18th century. He is credited with strengthening the economy and infrastructure of his kingdom during his reign.
In the realm of literature, Rahja Rajan was an influential Tamil poet and scholar who lived during the 16th century. His works, which focused on themes of love and spirituality, are considered classics of Tamil literature.
Rahja Govinda was a renowned Indian classical dancer and choreographer who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was instrumental in reviving and popularizing the traditional Bharatanatyam dance form, and her contributions to the art form are widely celebrated.
It is worth noting that while the name Rahja has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu culture, it has been adopted and used across various regions and communities within India and beyond over the centuries.
People
Rahja + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rahja 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
Rahja: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rahja?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rahja 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 26,365,718 US residents.
Is Rahja a common name?
We classify Rahja as "Very Rare". It ranks above 33.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rahja most popular?
The single biggest year for Rahja was 2000, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rahja is about 27 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 Rahja in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rahja a male name?
Yes, 53.8% of people registered as Rahja 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 Rahja still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rahja 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 Rahja 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 are called Rahja?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.