Rajab
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "to respect" or "revered".
Name Census estimates that about 13 living Americans carry the first name Rajab. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rajab today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rajab births was 2010 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rajab. 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 Rajab with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rajab. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
13
~ 1 in 26,365,718 Americans
Peak year
2010
7 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2019 SSA rank
#11,812
Tracked since 2010
Census
Rajab in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 180 people with the first name Rajab, which placed it at #41,022 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
#41,022
National first-name rank
People counted
180
180 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
37.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rajab
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rajab is Asian/Pacific Islander at 37.2%. The next largest groups are White (28.9%) and Black (26.1%). 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 Rajab 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 Rajab at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander37.2% · 67
- White28.9% · 52
- Black or African American26.1% · 47
- Two or more races7.2% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 1
Popularity
Rajab: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Rajab 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 Rajab during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 13 | 0 | 13 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Rajab
The name Rajab finds its origins in the Arabic language and culture, dating back to pre-Islamic times. It is derived from the Arabic root word "rajaba," which means "to revere" or "to respect." The name is closely associated with the seventh month of the Islamic calendar, which is also called Rajab.
In pre-Islamic Arabia, the month of Rajab was considered a sacred time during which warfare and bloodshed were prohibited. This tradition was later adopted and reinforced in Islamic teachings, making Rajab one of the most revered months in the Islamic calendar.
The name Rajab is mentioned in several historical texts and religious scriptures, including the Quran and the Hadith (the collected sayings and practices of Prophet Muhammad). In the Quran, the month of Rajab is referred to as one of the four sacred months, along with Muharram, Dhu al-Qadah, and Dhu al-Hijjah.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Rajab can be found in the historical records of the Umayyad Caliphate, which ruled from 661 to 750 CE. Rajab ibn Uthman (d. 695 CE) was a prominent military commander who served under the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Rajab. One of the most famous was Rajab Ali Beg (1493-1556), a Persian painter and calligrapher who served under the Safavid dynasty in Iran. His works are renowned for their intricate details and vibrant colors, and they can be found in museums around the world.
Another notable figure was Rajab Ali Khan (1657-1718), a Mughal military leader and governor of the Deccan region in India. He was known for his military campaigns against the Marathas and his efforts to strengthen Mughal rule in the region.
In the 19th century, Rajab Ali Qajar (1807-1849) was a prominent Iranian politician and military leader who served as the Prime Minister of Persia (modern-day Iran) from 1835 to 1848. He played a significant role in modernizing the Iranian army and implementing administrative reforms.
Rajab Ali Lahiri (1842-1907) was an Indian philosopher and educator who founded the Bramho Samaj, a socio-religious movement that aimed to reform Hinduism and promote monotheism. He was a strong advocate for women's education and social reforms.
Rajab Ali Koya (1892-1951) was an Indian Muslim scholar and historian from Kerala. He made significant contributions to the study of Islamic history and literature, and his works are widely regarded as important resources for understanding the cultural heritage of the region.
People
Rajab + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rajab 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
Rajab: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rajab?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rajab 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 Rajab a common name?
We classify Rajab 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 Rajab most popular?
The single biggest year for Rajab was 2010, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rajab is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rajab in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 180 people with the name Rajab, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,022 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 Rajab 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 Rajab?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rajab leans strongly male. 180 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 2 female bearers (1.1%). 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 Rajab?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rajab is Asian/Pacific Islander at 37.2%. The next largest groups are White (28.9%) and Black (26.1%). 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 Rajab most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Rajab in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.2% (67 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 Rajab in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rajab a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rajab 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 Rajab still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rajab 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 Rajab 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 have Rajab as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.