Raj
A masculine Indian name derived from the Sanskrit word for "king".
Name Census estimates that about 2,092 living Americans carry the first name Raj. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Raj today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raj births was 2003 (88 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raj. 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 Raj with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.1K
~ 1 in 163,841 Americans
Peak year
2003
88 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,989
Tracked since 1950
Census
Raj in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,433 people with the first name Raj, which placed it at #3,011 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
#3,011
National first-name rank
People counted
7.4K
7,433 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
86.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raj
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raj is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.8%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Raj 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 Raj at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander86.8% · 6,452
- White4.5% · 338
- Two or more races4.1% · 303
- Black or African American2.6% · 195
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 101
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 44
Popularity
Raj: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raj from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 587 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raj 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 Raj during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rajs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, New Jersey, New York recorded the most babies named Raj, while Michigan, Massachusetts, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 77 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Raj
The name Raj originates from the Sanskrit word "rajah," which means king or ruler. It first appeared in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Rigveda and the Mahabharata, dating back to around 1500 BCE.
In India, the name Raj has been associated with royalty and nobility for centuries. It was commonly used by members of the ruling classes and the aristocracy. The name's connection to power and authority can be traced back to the ancient Indian kingdoms and empires.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Raj is found in the Mahabharata, where it is mentioned as the name of a prince. The epic also refers to several kings and rulers with the name Raj or its variations, such as Rajendra and Rajasena.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Raj. One of the most famous is Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833), a Bengali Hindu renaissance man who played a pivotal role in the abolition of the practice of sati (widow burning) in British India.
Another prominent individual with the name Raj was Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906), an Indian painter and artist who is regarded as one of the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. His works were known for their realistic depictions of Indian mythology and culture.
In the 20th century, Raj Kapoor (1924-1988) was a legendary Indian actor, producer, and director who was a pioneer of the Hindi film industry. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of Indian cinema.
Raja Ramanna (1925-2004) was an Indian nuclear physicist who played a crucial role in India's nuclear program. He was the director of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission and was instrumental in the development of India's first nuclear weapon.
Raj Reddy (born 1937) is an Indian-American computer scientist who has made significant contributions to the field of artificial intelligence. He was awarded the Turing Award, one of the highest honors in computer science, in 1994.
The name Raj has a rich history and a strong connection to power, royalty, and leadership in Indian culture and tradition. It has been borne by notable figures across various fields, including literature, art, cinema, science, and politics, making it a name with a significant cultural legacy.
People
Raj + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raj 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
Raj: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raj?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,092 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raj 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 163,841 US residents.
Is Raj a common name?
We classify Raj as "Rare". It ranks above 93.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,155 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raj most popular?
The single biggest year for Raj was 2003, when 88 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raj is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raj in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,433 people with the name Raj, or 2.46 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,011 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 Raj 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 Raj?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raj leans strongly male. 6,553 people counted with this name were male (88.2%), compared with 874 female bearers (11.8%). 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 Raj?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raj is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.8%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Raj most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Raj in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (6,452 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 Raj in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raj a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raj 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 Raj still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raj 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 Raj 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 people are named Raj?
Want to know how many people have the name Raj? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.