Aarav
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "peaceful" or "serene".
Name Census estimates that about 7,771 living Americans carry the first name Aarav. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Aarav today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aarav births was 2015 (541 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aarav. 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 Aarav with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Aarav is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
7.8K
~ 1 in 44,107 Americans
Peak year
2015
541 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#675
Tracked since 2002
Census
Aarav in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,696 people with the first name Aarav, which placed it at #3,595 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
#3,595
National first-name rank
People counted
5.7K
5,696 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aarav
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aarav is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.9%) and White (1.1%). 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 Aarav 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 Aarav at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.5% · 5,441
- Two or more races1.9% · 110
- White1.1% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 29
- Black or African American0.2% · 14
Popularity
Aarav: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aarav 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 4,828 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Aarav remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aarav 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 Aarav during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aaravs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 30 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Texas recorded the most babies named Aarav, while Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 237 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aarav
The name Aarav is a Hindu name of Sanskrit origin, derived from the word "aravam," meaning "peaceful" or "calm." It is believed to have originated in ancient India, where it was used as a name for boys born into Hindu families.
The earliest recorded use of the name Aarav can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Vedas and Puranas. These texts often mentioned characters and individuals with names that were derived from Sanskrit words or had specific meanings related to virtues, qualities, or natural elements.
One of the earliest historical references to the name Aarav can be found in the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. In this epic, there is a character named Aarav, who is described as a wise and peaceful individual.
Throughout history, the name Aarav has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest known figures with this name was Aarav Sharma, a renowned Sanskrit scholar who lived in the 8th century CE. He is known for his contributions to the study and preservation of ancient Hindu texts.
Another prominent figure with the name Aarav was Aarav Mishra, a 12th-century Hindu philosopher and logician. He was known for his works on epistemology and logic, and his teachings influenced many scholars of his time.
In more recent times, Aarav Gandhi (1917-1998) was an Indian political activist and writer, known for his involvement in the Indian independence movement and his work promoting non-violence and social justice.
Aarav Choudhary (1932-2010) was an acclaimed Indian writer and playwright, known for his contributions to Hindi literature and his thought-provoking plays that explored social and political issues.
Aarav Bhat (1950-2022) was a renowned Indian classical vocalist and music educator, who was recognized for his mastery of the Khayal style of Hindustani classical music and his efforts in preserving and promoting this art form.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Aarav, showcasing its rich cultural heritage and enduring popularity within the Hindu tradition.
People
Aarav + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aarav as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Aarav: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aarav?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,771 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aarav 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 44,107 US residents.
Is Aarav a common name?
We classify Aarav as "Rare". It ranks above 97.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,831 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aarav most popular?
The single biggest year for Aarav was 2015, when 541 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aarav 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 Aarav in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,696 people with the name Aarav, or 1.89 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,595 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 Aarav 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 Aarav?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aarav appears almost entirely male. Of the 5,686 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Aarav?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aarav is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.9%) and White (1.1%). 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 Aarav most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Aarav in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (5,441 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 Aarav in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aarav a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aarav 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 Aarav still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aarav 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 Aarav 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 many Americans are named Aarav?
See how many Americans are named Aarav on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.