Renaya
A feminine name of French origin meaning "reborn" or "new life".
Name Census estimates that about 66 living Americans carry the first name Renaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Renaya today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Renaya births was 2007 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Renaya. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Renaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Renaya. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
66
~ 1 in 5,193,248 Americans
Peak year
2007
9 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2021 SSA rank
#14,891
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Renaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Renaya from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 29 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Renaya 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 Renaya 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 Renaya
The name Renaya is a beautiful and intriguing moniker with rich cultural roots. Its origins can be traced back to the Sanskrit language of ancient India, where it derives from the words "ren" meaning "lotus flower" and "aya" signifying "path" or "way." This suggests that the name Renaya initially embodied the idea of following a path as pure and noble as the revered lotus flower.
During the classical period of Indian civilization, references to the name Renaya can be found in various Hindu texts and scriptures, particularly those associated with the worship of the divine feminine energy, or Shakti. It was often bestowed upon young girls as a symbol of spiritual enlightenment and inner beauty.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Renaya dates back to the 6th century CE, when a renowned poet and scholar bearing this moniker graced the court of the Gupta Empire. Her works, though fragmentary, offer valuable insights into the literary and intellectual traditions of that era.
In the 12th century, a princess named Renaya rose to prominence in the court of the Chalukya dynasty, renowned for her patronage of the arts and her unwavering devotion to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. Her contributions to the cultural and religious fabric of her time were significant.
As the centuries passed, the name Renaya continued to hold a revered place in various parts of the Indian subcontinent, particularly in regions where Sanskrit and its linguistic descendants were widely spoken. It was often associated with individuals of great wisdom, creativity, and spiritual depth.
One notable figure who bore the name Renaya was a 16th-century mystic and poet from the Vaishnava tradition, whose devotional verses are still widely recited and cherished today. Her life and works exemplified the ideals of divine love and surrender to the divine.
In more recent times, the name Renaya gained popularity among certain communities in South Asia, particularly those with strong ties to the region's rich cultural heritage. It has also found its way into various diasporic communities around the world, often serving as a testament to the enduring legacy of the Indian civilization.
People
Renaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Renaya 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
Renaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Renaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 66 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Renaya 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 5,193,248 US residents.
Is Renaya a common name?
We classify Renaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 67 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Renaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Renaya was 2007, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Renaya is about 16 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 Renaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Renaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Renaya 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 Renaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Renaya 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 Renaya 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 Renaya?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.