Sajal
A name of Indian origin meaning "dew drop".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Sajal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sajal today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sajal births was 2016 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sajal. 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 Sajal with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Sajal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2016
6 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2016 SSA rank
#11,874
Tracked since 2016
Census
Sajal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 278 people with the first name Sajal, which placed it at #31,017 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
#31,017
National first-name rank
People counted
278
278 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
92.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sajal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sajal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%) and White (2.2%). 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 Sajal 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 Sajal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander92.4% · 257
- Black or African American2.5% · 7
- White2.2% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 4
- Two or more races1.4% · 4
Popularity
Sajal: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Sajal 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 Sajal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Sajal
The name Sajal is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that emerged in the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "sajala," which means "with water" or "watery." This suggests that the name may have been associated with water bodies or may have been given to individuals born near rivers, lakes, or other water sources.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Sajal can be found in ancient Hindu texts, particularly in the Puranas, which are a collection of Hindu mythological stories and narratives. The name appears in several Hindu myths and legends, often associated with characters who were connected to water bodies or had powers related to water.
In the historical records of the Indian subcontinent, the name Sajal can be traced back to the medieval period, particularly in the regions of Bengal and Assam. During this time, the name was commonly used among Hindu families and was often given to children as a symbol of purity, freshness, and fertility, reflecting the significance of water in agricultural societies.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Sajal. One of the earliest recorded examples is Sajal Dey, a 13th-century Bengali poet and scholar who made significant contributions to the development of Bengali literature. Another prominent figure was Sajal Chakraborty, a renowned Indian freedom fighter and social reformer from the 19th century.
In the realm of arts and culture, Sajal Bhattacharya was a celebrated Bengali actor and playwright who lived in the 20th century (1908-1988). His plays and performances were widely acclaimed and played a significant role in shaping the modern Bengali theater.
Sajal Nag, an Indian cricketer who played for the national team from 1953 to 1964, was also known by this name. He was a skilled all-rounder and represented India in various Test matches and international tournaments.
Sajal Sen, born in 1942, was an esteemed Indian classical vocalist and a recipient of the prestigious Padma Bhushan award, one of India's highest civilian honors, for his contributions to the field of music.
While the name Sajal has its roots in the ancient Sanskrit language and Hindu cultural traditions, it has transcended linguistic and regional boundaries and has been adopted by various communities across the Indian subcontinent and beyond.
People
Sajal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sajal as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sajal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sajal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sajal 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Sajal a common name?
We classify Sajal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sajal most popular?
The single biggest year for Sajal was 2016, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sajal is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sajal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 278 people with the name Sajal, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,017 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 Sajal 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 Sajal?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sajal on both sides of the split. Of the 278 people counted with this name, 198 were male (71.2%) and 80 were female (28.8%). 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 Sajal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sajal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%) and White (2.2%). 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 Sajal most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Sajal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (257 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 Sajal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sajal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sajal 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 Sajal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sajal 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 Sajal 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 common is the name Sajal?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Sajal at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.