Rajesh
An Indian masculine given name derived from Sanskrit meaning "king" or "ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 642 living Americans carry the first name Rajesh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rajesh today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rajesh births was 1976 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rajesh. 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 Rajesh with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
642
~ 1 in 533,885 Americans
Peak year
1976
43 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2013 SSA rank
#11,820
Tracked since 1965
Census
Rajesh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,584 people with the first name Rajesh, which placed it at #2,727 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
#2,727
National first-name rank
People counted
8.6K
8,584 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
94.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rajesh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rajesh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.6%) and Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Rajesh 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 Rajesh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.7% · 8,132
- White1.6% · 141
- Two or more races1.4% · 124
- Black or African American1.4% · 120
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 21
Popularity
Rajesh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rajesh from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 319 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rajesh 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 Rajesh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rajeshs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, California, Indiana recorded the most babies named Rajesh, while Texas, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rajesh
The name Rajesh originates from the Sanskrit language and has its roots in ancient Indian culture. It is a compound name derived from the words "raja" meaning "king" and "isha" meaning "lord" or "master." Together, the name Rajesh signifies "lord of kings" or "king of kings."
In Hindu mythology, the name Rajesh can be found in various sacred texts and scriptures. One notable reference is in the Ramayana, where Rajesh is mentioned as a name for the Hindu deity Rama, who is revered as the epitome of righteousness and an incarnation of the god Vishnu.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Rajesh can be traced back to the ancient Indian subcontinent, particularly in regions where Sanskrit was the predominant language. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact origin and first usage due to the limited historical records from that era.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Rajesh. One of the earliest known individuals was Rajesh Chandra Dutt (1848-1909), a prominent Indian writer, and scholar who contributed significantly to the Bengali literary renaissance of the 19th century.
Another prominent figure was Rajesh Khanna (1942-2012), an iconic Bollywood actor widely regarded as the first superstar of Indian cinema. He was a recipient of numerous accolades, including the prestigious Filmfare Awards, and his films were instrumental in shaping the landscape of Hindi cinema.
Rajesh Pilot (1945-2000) was an Indian politician and a member of the Indian National Congress party. He served as the Union Minister of Internal Security and held various other portfolios during his political career.
In the field of science, Rajesh Gopakumar (1971-2021) was an esteemed Indian theoretical physicist known for his contributions to string theory and quantum gravity. He received several prestigious awards, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize and the Infosys Prize.
Another noteworthy figure is Rajesh Khurana (born 1967), an Indian-American academic who currently serves as the President of Harvard University. He is widely recognized for his contributions to the field of organizational behavior and leadership development.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Rajesh throughout history. The name continues to be popular in various parts of the world, particularly in India and among the Indian diaspora, reflecting its deep-rooted cultural significance and historical legacy.
People
Rajesh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rajesh 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
Rajesh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rajesh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 642 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rajesh 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 533,885 US residents.
Is Rajesh a common name?
We classify Rajesh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 683 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rajesh most popular?
The single biggest year for Rajesh was 1976, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rajesh is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rajesh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,584 people with the name Rajesh, or 2.84 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,727 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 Rajesh 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 Rajesh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rajesh appears almost entirely male. Of the 8,582 people counted with this name, 99.4% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Rajesh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rajesh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.6%) and Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Rajesh most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Rajesh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (8,132 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 Rajesh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rajesh a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rajesh 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 Rajesh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rajesh 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 Rajesh 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 the name Rajesh?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Rajesh, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.