Raquan
A masculine name of Arabic origin representing strength and dignity.
Name Census estimates that about 1,367 living Americans carry the first name Raquan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Raquan today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raquan births was 1996 (157 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raquan. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 250,735 Americans
Peak year
1996
157 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,767
Tracked since 1987
Census
Raquan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 960 people with the first name Raquan, which placed it at #12,808 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
#12,808
National first-name rank
People counted
960
960 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
92.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raquan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raquan is Black at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Raquan 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 Raquan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American92.4% · 887
- Two or more races3.8% · 36
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 18
- White1.3% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 1
Popularity
Raquan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raquan from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 699 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raquan 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 Raquan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Raquans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina recorded the most babies named Raquan, while Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 61 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Raquan
The name Raquan has its origins in Arabic language and culture, tracing back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Arabic word "raqqan," which means "to dance or move gracefully." The name carries connotations of elegance, rhythm, and fluidity.
In its earliest recorded usage, the name Raquan appeared in various Arabic literary works and poetry from the 7th to 9th centuries CE. These works often celebrated the beauty and grace of dancers, with the name Raquan symbolizing the embodiment of such qualities.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Raquan was a renowned dancer and performer who lived in the court of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid in Baghdad during the 8th century CE. His performances were widely acclaimed and contributed to the cultural richness of the era.
Another notable figure named Raquan was a celebrated poet from Andalusia, the region of present-day Spain that was under Moorish rule during the 10th century CE. His poetry, which often explored themes of love and the natural world, was highly regarded and influenced the literary traditions of the time.
In the 12th century CE, a prominent Islamic scholar and philosopher named Raquan ibn Rushd, better known as Averroes in the West, made significant contributions to the fields of philosophy, theology, and law. His works had a lasting impact on both Islamic and Western intellectual thought.
During the Ottoman Empire, a military commander named Raquan Pasha gained fame for his strategic acumen and leadership in various campaigns throughout the 16th century CE. His exploits were recorded in historical chronicles and served as inspiration for literary works of the time.
Throughout history, the name Raquan has also been associated with individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, including artists, musicians, and writers, reflecting the versatility and cultural richness of the name's heritage.
People
Raquan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raquan 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
Raquan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raquan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,367 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raquan 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 250,735 US residents.
Is Raquan a common name?
We classify Raquan as "Rare". It ranks above 91.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,391 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raquan most popular?
The single biggest year for Raquan was 1996, when 157 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raquan is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raquan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 960 people with the name Raquan, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,808 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 Raquan 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 Raquan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raquan leans strongly male. 940 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 19 female bearers (2.0%). 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 Raquan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raquan is Black at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Raquan most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Raquan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (887 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 Raquan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raquan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raquan 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 Raquan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raquan 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 Raquan 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 named Raquan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.