Rakesh
A Hindu boy's name of Sanskrit origin meaning "lord of wealth".
Name Census estimates that about 419 living Americans carry the first name Rakesh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rakesh today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rakesh births was 1980 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rakesh. 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 Rakesh with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
419
~ 1 in 818,029 Americans
Peak year
1980
21 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2013 SSA rank
#11,823
Tracked since 1966
Census
Rakesh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,915 people with the first name Rakesh, which placed it at #3,965 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
#3,965
National first-name rank
People counted
4.9K
4,915 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
93.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rakesh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rakesh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (2.2%) and Black (2.0%). 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 Rakesh 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 Rakesh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander93.5% · 4,595
- White2.2% · 108
- Black or African American2.0% · 96
- Two or more races1.6% · 77
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 18
Popularity
Rakesh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rakesh from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 153 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rakesh 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 Rakesh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rakeshs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Rakesh, while Illinois, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rakesh
The name Rakesh is of Sanskrit origin and has its roots in the ancient Indian language. It is derived from the Sanskrit word 'raksha,' which means 'to protect' or 'to preserve.' The name is believed to have originated during the Vedic period in ancient India, which dates back to around 1500-500 BCE.
In Hindu mythology, the name Rakesh is associated with Lord Vishnu, one of the principal deities in Hinduism. Lord Vishnu is revered as the preserver and protector of the universe, and his name is often invoked for protection and safety. The name Rakesh is also mentioned in various ancient Hindu texts, including the Vedas and the Puranas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rakesh can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In this epic, there is a character named Rakshasa, which is a variant spelling of Rakesh. Rakshasa was a powerful demon king who fought against the Pandavas, the protagonists of the Mahabharata.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Rakesh. One of the most famous was Rakesh Sharma, an Indian Air Force pilot and the first Indian to travel to space. He was born in 1949 and flew aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz T-11 in 1984, becoming the first Indian to set foot in space.
Another notable Rakesh was Rakesh Roshan, an Indian film actor, producer, and director. He was born in 1949 and is best known for his work in Bollywood movies like Karan Arjun, Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, and Krrish. He has also directed several successful films and is considered a prominent figure in the Indian film industry.
Rakesh Khurana is an Indian-American academic and the current Dean of Harvard College. He was born in 1967 and is known for his contributions to the field of organizational behavior and leadership studies. He has authored several books and has been recognized for his research and teaching.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was an Indian billionaire investor and trader, often referred to as the "Warren Buffett of India." He was born in 1960 and made his fortune through stock trading and investments. He was a prominent figure in the Indian financial sector and was known for his philanthropic efforts.
Rakesh Sharma, the Indian Air Force pilot who traveled to space, was awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime military decoration, in 1985 for his achievement. This recognition highlights the significance of his feat and the pride it brought to the nation.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Rakesh
People
Rakesh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rakesh 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
Rakesh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rakesh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 419 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rakesh 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 818,029 US residents.
Is Rakesh a common name?
We classify Rakesh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 440 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rakesh most popular?
The single biggest year for Rakesh was 1980, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rakesh is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rakesh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,915 people with the name Rakesh, or 1.63 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,965 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 Rakesh 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 Rakesh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rakesh leans strongly male. 4,869 people counted with this name were male (99.0%), compared with 51 female bearers (1.0%). 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 Rakesh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rakesh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (2.2%) and Black (2.0%). 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 Rakesh most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Rakesh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (4,595 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 Rakesh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rakesh a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rakesh 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 Rakesh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rakesh 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 Rakesh 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 called Rakesh?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.