Sarayu
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "ever-flowing, divine river".
Name Census estimates that about 651 living Americans carry the first name Sarayu. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sarayu today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sarayu births was 2009 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sarayu. 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
651
~ 1 in 526,504 Americans
Peak year
2009
41 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,745
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Sarayu: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sarayu 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 334 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sarayu remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sarayu 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 Sarayu during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sarayus live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Sarayu, while Virginia, New Jersey, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sarayu
Sarayu is a name with origins tracing back to Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that was the root of many modern Indian languages. The name's literal meaning translates to "a river" or "a stream" in Sanskrit. It is believed to have been derived from the combination of the words "sara" meaning "essence" or "stream" and "yu" meaning "to go" or "to flow."
The Sarayu River, a tributary of the Ghaghara River in northern India, is one of the earliest known references to this name. Mentioned in the Vedas, the oldest Hindu scriptures dating back to around 1500-500 BCE, the Sarayu River was revered as sacred and held significance in various Hindu texts and mythology.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Sarayu was Sarayu Muni, a renowned sage and author of the Sarayu Upanishad, a philosophical text within the Atharvaveda, one of the four Vedas. Sarayu Muni is believed to have lived around the 8th or 7th century BCE.
In Hindu mythology, Sarayu was also the name of a princess, the daughter of the sage Vishvamitra and the wife of the sage Rishi Richika. Their union resulted in the birth of the sage Harichandra, a legendary figure known for his unwavering commitment to truth and righteousness.
Another notable individual named Sarayu was Sarayu Devi, a 16th-century Assamese poet and writer who is considered one of the most influential figures in the early development of Assamese literature. Her birth and death dates are uncertain, but her works are still revered and studied today.
In more recent history, Sarayu Rai was a Nepalese writer and social activist who played a significant role in the literary and social movements of Nepal in the 20th century. She was born in 1920 and passed away in 1986, leaving behind a notable legacy of advocating for women's rights and social reform through her writing.
Sarayu Mohan was an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who made significant contributions to the revival and promotion of the Bharatanatyam dance form in the 20th century. She was born in 1913 and passed away in 1998, having received numerous accolades and awards for her artistic achievements.
People
Sarayu + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sarayu 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
Sarayu: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sarayu?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 651 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sarayu 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 526,504 US residents.
Is Sarayu a common name?
We classify Sarayu as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 657 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sarayu most popular?
The single biggest year for Sarayu was 2009, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sarayu is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sarayu a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sarayu in the SSA data are female. 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.