Ranada
A feminine name possibly derived from Sanskrit, meaning "daughter of Rana/war hero".
Name Census estimates that about 287 living Americans carry the first name Ranada. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ranada today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ranada births was 1980 (116 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ranada. 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.
People living today
287
~ 1 in 1,194,266 Americans
Peak year
1980
116 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1995 SSA rank
#12,977
Tracked since 1959
Census
Ranada in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 355 people with the first name Ranada, which placed it at #26,287 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
#26,287
National first-name rank
People counted
355
355 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
64.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ranada
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ranada is Black at 64.2%. The next largest groups are White (23.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Ranada 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 Ranada at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American64.2% · 228
- White23.7% · 84
- Two or more races4.5% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 5
Popularity
Ranada: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ranada from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 234 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
Ranada 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 Ranada during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ranadas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Louisiana, Georgia, Missouri recorded the most babies named Ranada, while Tennessee, Pennsylvania, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ranada
The name Ranada is believed to have originated in ancient Tamil culture, which flourished in southern India and parts of Sri Lanka. Its roots can be traced back to the Sangam period, spanning from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. The word "Ranada" is derived from the Tamil term "raṇa-tāṭu," which translates to "battlefield" or "war dance."
During the Sangam era, Tamil literature celebrated the valor and heroism of warriors on the battlefield. The name Ranada was likely bestowed upon children born to families of renowned warriors or chieftains, symbolizing their strength and bravery. It was a name that carried a sense of pride and honor within the Tamil culture.
Historically, the name Ranada is mentioned in several ancient Tamil literary works, such as the Purananuru and the Pathupattu, which are anthologies of Tamil poetry dating back to the early centuries of the common era. These texts often depicted scenes of battle and praised the courage of warriors, potentially referencing individuals with the name Ranada.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ranada can be found in the 7th century CE, when a Tamil chieftain named Ranada Pandian ruled over the Pandyan Kingdom in southern India. His reign is documented in various inscriptions and historical records from that period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ranada:
1. Ranada Devi (born c. 1500 CE) was a Hindu mystic and poet from Rajasthan, India. Her spiritual compositions, known as the "Ranada Devi Vani," are still widely revered and studied.
2. Ranada Kaviraja (c. 16th century CE) was a renowned Bengali poet and Sanskrit scholar who authored the influential work "Chandi Mangal," which narrates the tales of the goddess Chandi.
3. Ranada Ranga Rao (1917-1988) was an acclaimed Indian actor and filmmaker who made significant contributions to the Telugu cinema industry. He was a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Padma Shri and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
4. Ranada Bhavani Devi (born 1939) is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer from Andhra Pradesh. She has received numerous honors, including the Padma Bhushan and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, for her contributions to the art of Kuchipudi dance.
5. Ranada Kumari (born 1964) is a renowned Indian classical vocalist and exponent of the Agra gharana. She has been awarded the Padma Shri and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for her exceptional talent and dedication to Hindustani classical music.
While the name Ranada has its roots in ancient Tamil culture, it has transcended regional boundaries and found recognition across various parts of India, with individuals from diverse backgrounds carrying this name and making their mark in various fields throughout history.
People
Ranada + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ranada 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
Ranada: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ranada?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 287 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ranada 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 1,194,266 US residents.
Is Ranada a common name?
We classify Ranada as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 309 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ranada most popular?
The single biggest year for Ranada was 1980, when 116 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ranada 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 Ranada in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 355 people with the name Ranada, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,287 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 Ranada 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 Ranada?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ranada leans strongly female. 338 people counted with this name were female (97.4%), compared with 9 male bearers (2.6%). 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 Ranada?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ranada is Black at 64.2%. The next largest groups are White (23.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Ranada most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ranada in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.2% (228 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 Ranada in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ranada a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ranada 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 Ranada still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ranada 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 Ranada 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 Ranada?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Ranada at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.