Ajay
An Indian name of Sanskrit origin meaning "invincible, unconquerable, undefeated".
Name Census estimates that about 4,435 living Americans carry the first name Ajay. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ajay today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ajay births was 2011 (158 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ajay. 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 Ajay with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.4K
~ 1 in 77,284 Americans
Peak year
2011
158 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,435
Tracked since 1964
Census
Ajay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,868 people with the first name Ajay, which placed it at #2,658 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
#2,658
National first-name rank
People counted
8.9K
8,868 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
73.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ajay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ajay is Asian/Pacific Islander at 73.8%. The next largest groups are White (11.2%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Ajay 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 Ajay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander73.8% · 6,541
- White11.2% · 992
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 467
- Black or African American4.6% · 407
- Two or more races4.5% · 398
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 63
Gender
Gender distribution for Ajay
Out of the 4,529 babies given the name Ajay since 1880, 99.9% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Ajay as a male name
- Ranked #2,435 in 2024
- 56 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (158 births)
Ajay as a female name
- Ranked #16,644 in 2013
- 5 female births in 2013
- Peak: 2013 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ajay leans strongly male. 8,774 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 96 female bearers (1.1%).
Popularity
Ajay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ajay 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 1,449 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
Ajay 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 Ajay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ajays live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Ajay, while Indiana, Connecticut, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 107 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ajay
The name Ajay has its origins in the Sanskrit language and is derived from the word "Ajaya," which means "invincible" or "unconquerable." It is a popular name in India, particularly among Hindus.
The earliest recorded use of the name Ajay can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Mahabharata and the Puranas. In these sacred texts, the name is associated with various characters and deities, symbolizing strength, courage, and triumph over adversity.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Ajay was Ajay Chakravarti, a renowned Indian philosopher and scholar who lived during the 7th century CE. He made significant contributions to the field of logic and epistemology, and his works are still studied and revered within academic circles.
Another prominent figure was Ajay Devgn, an acclaimed Indian film actor, director, and producer. Born in 1969, Devgn has starred in numerous Bollywood films and has received several prestigious awards for his performances.
In the field of sports, Ajay Jadeja was a former Indian cricketer who played for the national team from 1992 to 2000. He was a versatile all-rounder and captained the Indian team in several matches.
Ajay Banga, born in 1960, is a renowned Indian-American business executive who currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mastercard Incorporated.
Ajay Naik, born in 1968, is an Indian businessman and the co-founder of Ola Cabs, one of the largest ride-sharing companies in India.
The name Ajay continues to be popular among Indian families, and its meaning of "invincible" and "unconquerable" resonates with many parents who wish to instill strength and resilience in their children from an early age.
People
Ajay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ajay 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
Ajay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ajay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,435 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ajay 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 77,284 US residents.
Is Ajay a common name?
We classify Ajay as "Rare". It ranks above 96.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,529 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ajay most popular?
The single biggest year for Ajay was 2011, when 158 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ajay is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ajay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,868 people with the name Ajay, or 2.94 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,658 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 Ajay 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 Ajay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ajay leans strongly male. 8,774 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 96 female bearers (1.1%). 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 Ajay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ajay is Asian/Pacific Islander at 73.8%. The next largest groups are White (11.2%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Ajay most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ajay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.8% (6,541 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 Ajay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ajay a male name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Ajay 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 Ajay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ajay 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 Ajay 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 people are named Ajay?
Find out how many Americans are named Ajay on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.