Saurav
Of Sanskrit origin, meaning "born of the sun".
Name Census estimates that about 201 living Americans carry the first name Saurav. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Saurav today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Saurav births was 2004 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Saurav. 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 Saurav with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
201
~ 1 in 1,705,245 Americans
Peak year
2004
18 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2019 SSA rank
#11,895
Tracked since 1996
Census
Saurav in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 757 people with the first name Saurav, which placed it at #15,253 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
#15,253
National first-name rank
People counted
757
757 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
94.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saurav
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Saurav is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.6%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%) and Black (1.3%). 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 Saurav 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 Saurav at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.6% · 716
- White2.8% · 21
- Black or African American1.3% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 5
- Two or more races0.5% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Saurav: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Saurav from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 102 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Saurav remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Saurav 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 Saurav during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sauravs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Saurav
The name Saurav is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages spoken in ancient India. The name is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "Saurabh," which means "fragrance" or "aroma."
In Hindu mythology, Saurabh is also the name of a sacred cow that was created by the god Brahma to provide nourishment to the sages and saints during their spiritual pursuits. This association with a divine creature in Hindu scriptures has contributed to the name's popularity and positive connotations in Indian culture.
The earliest recorded use of the name Saurav can be traced back to ancient texts and inscriptions dating back to the 5th century CE. However, it is likely that the name was in use even earlier, given its Sanskrit roots and connections to Hindu mythology.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Saurav is Saurav Ganguly, an iconic Indian cricketer who captained the Indian national team in the early 2000s. He was born in 1972 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketers of his generation.
Another prominent individual with the name Saurav is Saurav Ghosal, an Indian squash player who has been ranked among the top players in the world. He was born in 1986 and has won numerous tournaments and championships throughout his career.
In the field of literature, Saurav Dutt is a notable Indian poet and writer who has published several collections of poetry and prose. He was born in 1973 and is known for his lyrical and introspective works that explore themes of identity, love, and the human experience.
Saurav Jha is an Indian journalist and author who has written extensively on politics, social issues, and contemporary affairs. He was born in 1981 and has worked for various prestigious publications, including The Economist and The Hindustan Times.
Lastly, Saurav Viswanath is an Indian-American entrepreneur and technology executive who co-founded the social media platform Meebo. He was born in 1982 and has been recognized for his contributions to the tech industry, particularly in the field of social networking and communication technologies.
These examples illustrate the diverse backgrounds and achievements of individuals who share the name Saurav, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and historical significance associated with this name.
People
Saurav + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Saurav 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
Saurav: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Saurav?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 201 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Saurav 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 1,705,245 US residents.
Is Saurav a common name?
We classify Saurav as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 203 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Saurav most popular?
The single biggest year for Saurav was 2004, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Saurav is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Saurav in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 757 people with the name Saurav, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,253 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 Saurav 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 Saurav?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Saurav appears almost entirely male. Of the 760 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Saurav?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Saurav is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.6%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%) and Black (1.3%). 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 Saurav most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Saurav in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.6% (716 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 Saurav in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Saurav a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Saurav 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 Saurav still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Saurav 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 Saurav 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 Saurav?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.