Raja
A masculine name of Indian origin meaning "king" or "ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 1,196 living Americans carry the first name Raja. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 69.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Raja today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raja births was 2001 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raja. 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 Raja with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 286,584 Americans
Peak year
2001
53 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,712
Tracked since 1967
Census
Raja in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,534 people with the first name Raja, which placed it at #5,012 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
#5,012
National first-name rank
People counted
3.5K
3,534 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
59.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raja
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raja is Asian/Pacific Islander at 59.2%. The next largest groups are White (22.6%) and Black (10.7%). 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 Raja 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 Raja at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander59.2% · 2,093
- White22.6% · 797
- Black or African American10.7% · 378
- Two or more races4.7% · 166
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 77
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 23
Gender
Gender distribution for Raja
Raja is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,226 total registrations, 850 (69.3%) were male and 376 (30.7%) were female.
Raja as a male name
- Ranked #6,712 in 2024
- 13 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2001 (36 births)
Raja as a female name
- Ranked #13,105 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (20 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Raja on both sides of the split. Of the 3,542 people counted with this name, 2,734 were male (77.2%) and 808 were female (22.8%).
Popularity
Raja: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raja from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 366 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
Raja 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 Raja during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rajas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Raja
The name Raja has its origins in the Sanskrit language, derived from the word "raj," meaning "to reign" or "to rule." This name has been in use for centuries, particularly in the Indian subcontinent and regions influenced by Hindu and Buddhist cultures.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Raja can be found in ancient Hindu scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Puranas. In these texts, the term "Raja" is often used to refer to kings, rulers, and individuals of royal lineage. The name carries connotations of power, authority, and leadership.
During the medieval period, the title "Raja" was widely used by various ruling dynasties in the Indian subcontinent. Famous historical figures who bore this name include Raja Raja Chola I (985-1014 CE), a powerful ruler of the Chola Empire in South India, known for his military conquests and the construction of magnificent temples, such as the Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur.
Another notable bearer of the name was Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833 CE), a prominent Indian Renaissance figure and social reformer. He played a significant role in the abolition of the practice of Sati (widow burning) and the promotion of education and women's rights in India.
In the field of literature, Raja Rao (1908-2006 CE) was a renowned Indian novelist and philosopher, best known for his groundbreaking novel "Kanthapura," which explored the impact of India's struggle for independence on a small village.
Beyond the Indian subcontinent, the name Raja also found its way into other cultures. In the Malay Archipelago, the term "Raja" was used to refer to rulers and chieftains. An example is Raja Ismail (1592-1688 CE), a prominent Sultan of the Aceh Sultanate in present-day Indonesia, known for his military campaigns and efforts to strengthen the sultanate's power.
In the realm of sports, Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906 CE) was a celebrated Indian artist who is considered one of the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. His works portrayed scenes from Hindu mythology and portraits of royalty, reflecting the cultural significance of the name Raja.
While the name Raja has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu traditions, it has transcended cultural boundaries and continues to be used across various regions and communities, carrying a sense of distinction and regal connotations.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Raja
People
Raja + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raja 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
Raja: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raja?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,196 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raja 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 286,584 US residents.
Is Raja a common name?
We classify Raja as "Rare". It ranks above 91.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,226 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raja most popular?
The single biggest year for Raja was 2001, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raja is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raja in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,534 people with the name Raja, or 1.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,012 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 Raja 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 Raja?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Raja on both sides of the split. Of the 3,542 people counted with this name, 2,734 were male (77.2%) and 808 were female (22.8%). 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 Raja?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raja is Asian/Pacific Islander at 59.2%. The next largest groups are White (22.6%) and Black (10.7%). 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 Raja most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Raja in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.2% (2,093 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 Raja in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raja a male name?
Yes, 69.3% of people registered as Raja 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 Raja still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raja 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 Raja 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 share the name Raja?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.