Rass
A short form of the Arabic name Rasul meaning "messenger".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Rass. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rass today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rass births was 1927 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rass. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rass. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1927
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1927 SSA rank
#4,672
Tracked since 1927
Popularity
Rass: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Rass 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 Rass during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Rass
The given name Rass is believed to have its origins in ancient Mesopotamia, with roots tracing back to the Sumerian language spoken in the region around 3500 BCE. The name is thought to be derived from the Sumerian word "rasu," which means "guardian" or "protector." It is possible that the name was originally used to describe someone who was a watchman or a defender of a city or settlement.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rass can be found in cuneiform inscriptions from the city of Ur, dating back to around 2500 BCE. These inscriptions mention a man named Rass-ilu, which translates to "Rass is my god" in the Akkadian language. This suggests that the name was in use among the Semitic peoples of Mesopotamia during the Bronze Age.
In ancient Sumerian mythology, there is a reference to a minor deity named Rass who was associated with the protection of households and the safety of children. While not a major figure in the pantheon, this deity may have been the namesake for individuals who were given the name Rass as a way of seeking divine protection.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Rass was a scribe and administrator who lived in the city of Babylon during the reign of King Hammurabi in the 18th century BCE. His name, Rass-shakin, is recorded on several clay tablets detailing administrative records and legal documents from that period.
Another notable figure with the name Rass was a military commander who served under the Assyrian King Sennacherib in the 7th century BCE. This Rass played a significant role in the successful siege of the city of Jerusalem, as documented in the Assyrian royal annals and biblical accounts.
In the 5th century BCE, a philosopher and mathematician named Rass-banu was known for his contributions to the development of early algebra and the study of quadratic equations in Babylonian mathematics.
During the Parthian period in ancient Persia, around the 2nd century BCE, there was a prominent aristocrat and statesman named Rass-mihir who held a high position in the court of the Parthian king Mithridates I.
In the 9th century CE, a renowned Islamic scholar and theologian from Baghdad named Rass al-Din was known for his extensive writings on Islamic jurisprudence and his influential teachings on the interpretation of the Quran.
People
Rass + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rass 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
Rass: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rass?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rass 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 - US residents.
Is Rass a common name?
We classify Rass as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rass most popular?
The single biggest year for Rass was 1927, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rass is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Rass in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rass a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rass 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 Rass still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rass 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 Rass 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Rass?
Want to know how many Americans are named Rass? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.