Ronav
A Hindu masculine name meaning "bright" or "luminous".
Name Census estimates that about 327 living Americans carry the first name Ronav. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ronav today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ronav births was 2011 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ronav. 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 Ronav with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
327
~ 1 in 1,048,178 Americans
Peak year
2011
35 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,000
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Ronav: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ronav from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 241 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ronav 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 Ronav during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ronavs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Virginia recorded the most babies named Ronav, while Virginia, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ronav
The name Ronav is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE. It is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "runa," which means "debt" or "obligation," and the word "av," which can mean "protector" or "shelter." Together, the name Ronav could be interpreted to mean "one who protects from debt" or "one who shelters from obligations."
This name's earliest roots can be traced back to the Indian subcontinent, where it was likely used among various Hindu communities. While there are no definitive references to the name Ronav in ancient Hindu texts or scriptures, it is possible that it was in use as a personal name during the Vedic period (c. 1500 - c. 500 BCE) or the later classical era of Indian history.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Ronav was a 7th-century Indian mathematician and astronomer from present-day Gujarat, who is credited with writing several influential treatises on mathematics, astronomy, and astrology. His full name was Ronav Shastri, and he lived during the reign of the Chalukya dynasty in the 7th century CE.
Another notable figure named Ronav was a 12th-century Hindu philosopher and poet from the Deccan region of India. He is known for his writings on Advaita Vedanta, a branch of Hindu philosophy that emphasizes the non-duality of the individual self and the ultimate reality. His full name was Ronav Acharya, and he lived during the reign of the Western Chalukya Empire in the 12th century CE.
In more recent history, there was a renowned Indian classical dancer named Ronav Chatterjee, who was born in Kolkata in 1928 and passed away in 2007. He was a leading exponent of the Kathak dance form and was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1973 for his contributions to the field of dance.
Another notable individual with the name Ronav was Ronav Desai, an Indian-American businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded the software company Synopsys in 1986. He served as the company's CEO from its inception until 2012 and was instrumental in its growth and success in the field of electronic design automation.
Finally, Ronav Nayyar is a contemporary Indian author and journalist who has written several books on topics related to history, culture, and politics. He was born in 1978 and is known for his works such as "Urban Myths" and "The Millennial City," which explore various aspects of modern Indian society and urban life.
People
Ronav + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ronav 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
Ronav: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ronav?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 327 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ronav 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 1,048,178 US residents.
Is Ronav a common name?
We classify Ronav as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 330 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ronav most popular?
The single biggest year for Ronav was 2011, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ronav is about 11 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 Ronav in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ronav a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ronav 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 Ronav still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ronav 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 Ronav 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 are called Ronav?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.