Rashana
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "well-balanced" or "sweet scent".
Name Census estimates that about 270 living Americans carry the first name Rashana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rashana today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rashana births was 1980 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rashana. 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
270
~ 1 in 1,269,461 Americans
Peak year
1980
14 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2003 SSA rank
#15,316
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Rashana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rashana from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 96 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
Rashana 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 Rashana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rashana
The name Rashana originates from the ancient Sanskrit language, which was predominant in the Indian subcontinent during the Vedic period, around 1500-500 BCE. The name is derived from the Sanskrit root "rash," meaning "to shine" or "to radiate," combined with the feminine suffix "-ana," indicating a feminine name.
In Hindu mythology, Rashana was the name of a minor goddess associated with light and radiance. She was often depicted as a beautiful, luminous figure representing the divine feminine energy. The name Rashana was also found in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Vedas and Puranas, where it was used to describe celestial beings or deities associated with brightness and illumination.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rashana dates back to the 7th century CE, when a princess named Rashana was mentioned in the historical records of the Gupta Empire, which ruled over a significant portion of the Indian subcontinent during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Rashana. Here are five examples:
1. Rashana Devi (1505-1567), a powerful Queen of the Garhwal Kingdom in present-day Uttarakhand, India, known for her military prowess and leadership.
2. Rashana Begum (1675-1723), a renowned Sufi poet and mystic from the Mughal Empire, celebrated for her spiritual compositions and teachings.
3. Rashana Imtiaz (1908-1986), a pioneering Pakistani educator and women's rights activist who advocated for girls' education and social reforms.
4. Rashana Khan (1925-2001), an Indian classical dancer and choreographer, widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the Kathak dance form.
5. Rashana Aziz (born 1972), an accomplished Egyptian writer and journalist, known for her novels exploring social and cultural issues in the Middle East.
While the name Rashana has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu traditions, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained popularity in various regions, particularly in South Asia and parts of the Middle East, where it is often associated with qualities such as radiance, beauty, and enlightenment.
People
Rashana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rashana 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
Rashana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rashana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 270 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rashana 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 1,269,461 US residents.
Is Rashana a common name?
We classify Rashana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 286 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rashana most popular?
The single biggest year for Rashana was 1980, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rashana is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rashana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rashana 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.
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.