Ritesh
A masculine Hindu name meaning "protector of sacred rituals".
Name Census estimates that about 167 living Americans carry the first name Ritesh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ritesh today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ritesh births was 2012 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ritesh. 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 Ritesh with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
167
~ 1 in 2,052,421 Americans
Peak year
2012
13 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2015 SSA rank
#8,581
Tracked since 1976
Census
Ritesh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,442 people with the first name Ritesh, which placed it at #9,578 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
#9,578
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,442 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ritesh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ritesh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.1%) and Black (0.7%). 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 Ritesh 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 Ritesh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.7% · 1,395
- White1.1% · 16
- Black or African American0.7% · 10
- Two or more races0.6% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 5
Popularity
Ritesh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ritesh from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 56 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ritesh 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 Ritesh 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 Ritesh
The name Ritesh originates from the Sanskrit language and has its roots in ancient Indian culture, dating back to the Vedic period (c. 1500 - c. 500 BCE). It is derived from the Sanskrit words "ritu" meaning "season" and "ish" meaning "lord" or "master." Therefore, the name Ritesh can be interpreted as "lord of the seasons" or "master of the seasons."
While the exact origin of the name is not entirely clear, it is believed to have been associated with deities or revered individuals who were considered guardians or rulers of the different seasons. Some ancient Hindu texts, such as the Puranas, mention figures with similar names, indicating the name's historical significance in Indian mythology and religious traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ritesh can be found in the 12th century CE, when it appeared in Sanskrit manuscripts and inscriptions from the medieval period. During this time, the name was likely used by scholars, poets, and individuals from aristocratic or noble backgrounds.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ritesh. One such figure was Ritesh Deshmukh (1554-1623 CE), a Marathi poet and scholar from the Deccan region of India, who made significant contributions to the Marathi literary tradition.
Another prominent figure was Ritesh Dutta (1718-1793 CE), a Bengali philosopher and social reformer, known for his work in promoting education and social welfare during the late 18th century in Bengal.
In the 19th century, Ritesh Chandra Dutt (1848-1909) was a renowned Bengali writer, translator, and civil servant who played a crucial role in introducing Indian literature to the Western world through his translations of ancient Sanskrit texts.
Moving into the 20th century, Ritesh Pande (1905-1988) was an influential Indian economist and statesman who served as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1963 to 1967.
More recently, Ritesh Sidhwani (born 1973) is a prominent Indian film producer who has been involved in several successful Bollywood movies, including the critically acclaimed "Dil Chahta Hai" and "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara."
While the name Ritesh continues to be used in various parts of India and among the Indian diaspora, its historical roots and cultural significance remain deeply embedded in the ancient Sanskrit language and Indian traditions, reflecting the enduring influence of this name across centuries.
People
Ritesh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ritesh 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
Ritesh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ritesh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 167 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ritesh 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 2,052,421 US residents.
Is Ritesh a common name?
We classify Ritesh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 171 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ritesh most popular?
The single biggest year for Ritesh was 2012, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ritesh is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ritesh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,442 people with the name Ritesh, or 0.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,578 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 Ritesh 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 Ritesh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ritesh appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,439 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Ritesh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ritesh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.1%) and Black (0.7%). 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 Ritesh most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ritesh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.7% (1,395 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 Ritesh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ritesh a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ritesh 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 Ritesh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ritesh 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 Ritesh 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 called Ritesh?
You can see how many Americans are named Ritesh on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.