Rushi
A unisex name of Indian origin meaning "light" or "bright".
Name Census estimates that about 245 living Americans carry the first name Rushi. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rushi today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rushi births was 1995 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rushi. 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
245
~ 1 in 1,398,997 Americans
Peak year
1995
16 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,804
Tracked since 1988
Popularity
Rushi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rushi from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 91 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rushi 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 Rushi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rushis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rushi
The given name Rushi has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages spoken in South Asia. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "rushi," which means "sage" or "seer." It is believed to have been a popular name among Hindus and Buddhists in ancient India.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Rushi can be found in the ancient Hindu scriptures known as the Vedas, which date back to around 1500 BCE. In these texts, Rushi is often used as a title to refer to the sages or rishis who were the authors and preservers of the Vedic hymns and mantras.
During the Vedic period, several notable sages bore the name Rushi, including Rushi Agastya, who is credited with the composition of several Vedic hymns and is regarded as one of the seven great sages in Hindu mythology.
In Buddhist literature, the name Rushi is also mentioned in connection with the disciples of the Buddha. The Pali Canon, which is a collection of Buddhist scriptures, mentions a disciple named Rushi who was known for his wisdom and spiritual attainments.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Rushi. One of the earliest was Rushi Valmiki (c. 500 BCE), who is regarded as the author of the Hindu epic Ramayana, one of the most important literary works in the Sanskrit tradition.
Another significant figure was Rushi Kashyapa (c. 200 BCE), who was a renowned Hindu sage and the founder of the Kashyapa gotra, one of the most prominent Brahmin lineages in India.
In more recent times, Rushi Raj Arora (1954-2022) was an Indian writer and film director who was known for his works exploring themes of spirituality and existentialism.
Rushi Prasad (1921-2007) was an eminent Indian physicist and educator who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics and served as the Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University.
Rushi Kesh (born 1981) is a contemporary Indian classical vocalist and composer who has performed extensively both in India and abroad, promoting the rich traditions of Hindustani classical music.
People
Rushi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rushi 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
Rushi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rushi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 245 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rushi 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 1,398,997 US residents.
Is Rushi a common name?
We classify Rushi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 249 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rushi most popular?
The single biggest year for Rushi was 1995, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rushi is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rushi a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rushi 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.
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.