Sanjay
Of Sanskrit origin meaning "victorious" or "alongside victory".
Name Census estimates that about 2,502 living Americans carry the first name Sanjay. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sanjay today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sanjay births was 2006 (90 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sanjay. 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
2.5K
~ 1 in 136,992 Americans
Peak year
2006
90 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,525
Tracked since 1962
Popularity
Sanjay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sanjay from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 685 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
Sanjay 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 Sanjay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sanjays live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. New York, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Sanjay, while Virginia, Michigan, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 76 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sanjay
The name Sanjay is of Sanskrit origin and is derived from the Sanskrit words "sanjaya" which means "victorious" or "winner of battles." The name has its roots in ancient Indian culture and can be traced back to the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India.
In the Mahabharata, Sanjaya was the charioteer of the blind king Dhritarashtra and served as his eyes during the great battle of Kurukshetra. Sanjaya was gifted with the divine ability to witness the events of the battle from a distance and narrate them to the king. His role was pivotal in the epic, and the name Sanjaya became synonymous with the concept of being a witness or narrator.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Sanjay dates back to the 8th century CE, when a Sanskrit scholar and poet named Sanjay lived during the reign of the Pala Empire in ancient Bengal. He is known for his work on the Raghuvansha, a poetic adaptation of the life of the legendary king Raghu.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Sanjay. One of the most famous was Sanjay Gandhi (1946-1980), the younger son of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He played a significant role in Indian politics during the turbulent years of the Emergency in the 1970s.
Another prominent Sanjay was Sanjay Leela Bhansali (born 1963), an acclaimed Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter known for his visually stunning and emotionally charged films such as "Devdas," "Bajirao Mastani," and "Padmaavat."
In the field of science, Sanjay Gupta (born 1970) is a renowned American neurosurgeon, medical reporter, and writer who has made significant contributions to healthcare journalism and public education on medical issues.
Sanjay Dutt (born 1959) is a prominent Indian actor who has appeared in numerous Bollywood films and is known for his versatile performances and personal struggles with legal issues.
Lastly, Sanjay Lal (born 1958) is a former Indian cricketer who played domestic cricket for Delhi and represented India in Test cricket during the 1980s.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals named Sanjay throughout history, showcasing the rich cultural heritage and significance of this Sanskrit name.
People
Sanjay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sanjay 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
Sanjay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sanjay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,502 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sanjay 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 136,992 US residents.
Is Sanjay a common name?
We classify Sanjay as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,586 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sanjay most popular?
The single biggest year for Sanjay was 2006, when 90 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sanjay is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sanjay a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sanjay 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.