Rana
A feminine given name of Sanskrit origin meaning "queen" or "melodious".
Name Census estimates that about 4,319 living Americans carry the first name Rana. It is a predominantly female name (96.5% of registrations). The average person named Rana today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rana births was 1971 (120 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rana. 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 Rana with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Rana is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 164 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
4.3K
~ 1 in 79,360 Americans
Peak year
1971
120 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,729
Tracked since 1942
Census
Rana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,126 people with the first name Rana, which placed it at #2,845 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
#2,845
National first-name rank
People counted
8.1K
8,126 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rana is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.5%) and Black (6.0%). 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 Rana 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 Rana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.1% · 5,777
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.5% · 1,262
- Black or African American6.0% · 484
- Two or more races5.0% · 406
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 160
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 37
Gender
Gender distribution for Rana
Rana leans heavily female at 96.5% of total registrations, but 164 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Rana as a male name
- Ranked #6,715 in 2024
- 13 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (14 births)
Rana as a female name
- Ranked #3,729 in 2024
- 41 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1971 (120 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rana leans strongly female. 7,388 people counted with this name were female (90.9%), compared with 736 male bearers (9.1%).
Popularity
Rana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rana from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 1,041 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
Rana 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 Rana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ranas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. California, New York, Michigan recorded the most babies named Rana, while Washington, Missouri, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 102 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rana
The name Rana is derived from the Sanskrit word "rana," which means "battle" or "war." It has its origins in ancient India and was initially used as a title or honorific for warriors and kings. The name gained popularity during the medieval period, particularly among the Rajput clans in northern India.
In Hindu mythology, Rana is associated with the deity Kartikeya, the god of war and the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. The name is also mentioned in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, where it refers to a battle or a warrior. This connection to the warrior tradition has contributed to the name's enduring popularity in the region.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Rana dates back to the 8th century CE, when it was used by the Pratihara dynasty rulers in present-day Rajasthan, India. One notable figure was Rana Khumba, the ruler of the Mewar kingdom in the 15th century, who is renowned for his architectural contributions, including the construction of the famous Kumbhalgarh Fort.
Throughout history, several prominent individuals have borne the name Rana. One of the most famous is Rana Pratap Singh (1540-1597), the legendary Rajput ruler of Mewar who fiercely resisted the Mughal Empire's attempts to conquer his kingdom. His bravery and defiance against the powerful Mughal forces have made him an iconic figure in Indian history.
Another notable figure is Rana Sanga (1484-1528), the Rana of Mewar and the leader of the Rajput confederacy. He fought against the Mughal ruler Babur in the Battle of Khanua in 1527, which resulted in a Mughal victory but showcased the valor of the Rajput warriors.
In more recent times, Rana Sanaullah Khan (born 1962) is a prominent Pakistani politician and currently serves as the Interior Minister of Pakistan. Rana Liaquat Ali Khan (1895-1951) was the first Prime Minister of Pakistan and is considered a founding father of the nation.
The name Rana has also been popular in other cultures, such as the Nepali and Bengali communities, where it is associated with nobility and leadership qualities.
People
Rana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rana 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
Rana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,319 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rana 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 79,360 US residents.
Is Rana a common name?
We classify Rana as "Rare". It ranks above 96.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,667 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rana most popular?
The single biggest year for Rana was 1971, when 120 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rana is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,126 people with the name Rana, or 2.69 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,845 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 Rana 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 Rana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rana leans strongly female. 7,388 people counted with this name were female (90.9%), compared with 736 male bearers (9.1%). 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 Rana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rana is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.5%) and Black (6.0%). 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 Rana most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.1% (5,777 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 Rana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rana a female name?
Yes, 96.5% of people registered as Rana in the SSA data are female. 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 Rana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rana 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 Rana 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 common is the name Rana?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.