Rashauna
A feminine given name of uncertain origin, possibly from an Ashanti name.
Name Census estimates that about 181 living Americans carry the first name Rashauna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rashauna today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rashauna births was 1979 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rashauna. 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
181
~ 1 in 1,893,670 Americans
Peak year
1979
14 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2004 SSA rank
#15,638
Tracked since 1974
Popularity
Rashauna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rashauna from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 78 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Rashauna remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rashauna 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 Rashauna 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 Rashauna
The given name Rashauna is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, with roots tracing back to the 7th century AD. It is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "rasha," which means "to guide" or "to lead," and the suffix "-una," which is a common feminine ending in Arabic names.
In the early days of Islam, during the time of the Prophet Muhammad and the spread of the religion across the Arabian Peninsula, names with similar meanings and constructions were popular among the faithful. The name Rashauna was likely given to young girls, with the intention of bestowing upon them a name that symbolized guidance and leadership.
While there are no known historical references to the name Rashauna in ancient texts or religious scriptures, the earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 10th century AD. One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name was Rashauna bint Al-Khattab, a renowned scholar and poet from the city of Cordoba in present-day Spain, who lived from 965 to 1023 AD.
Another notable figure in history with the name Rashauna was Rashauna Al-Andalusi, a mathematician and astronomer from the city of Granada in present-day Spain, who lived from 1120 to 1185 AD. She made significant contributions to the fields of algebra and trigonometry and was highly respected in her time.
In the 13th century, a famous Sufi mystic and poet named Rashauna Al-Din Rumi was born in present-day Afghanistan. Her works, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, have been widely celebrated and continue to be studied and admired to this day. She lived from 1207 to 1273 AD.
Moving forward in time, the name Rashauna also appears in the annals of Ottoman history. Rashauna Hanum was a prominent figure in the Ottoman court during the reign of Sultan Selim III in the late 18th century. She was known for her political influence and her patronage of the arts and sciences.
Another notable bearer of the name was Rashauna Al-Jaziri, an Iraqi scholar and historian who lived from 1801 to 1879 AD. Her works focused on the history and culture of the Arab world, and she is considered a pioneering figure in the field of modern Arab historiography.
People
Rashauna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rashauna 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
Rashauna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rashauna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 181 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rashauna 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 1,893,670 US residents.
Is Rashauna a common name?
We classify Rashauna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 190 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rashauna most popular?
The single biggest year for Rashauna was 1979, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rashauna is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rashauna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rashauna 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.