Rahi
A masculine Arabic name meaning "traveler" or "wayfarer".
Name Census estimates that about 226 living Americans carry the first name Rahi. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Rahi today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rahi births was 2024 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rahi. 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 Rahi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
226
~ 1 in 1,516,612 Americans
Peak year
2024
25 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,090
Tracked since 1998
Census
Rahi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 331 people with the first name Rahi, which placed it at #27,567 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
#27,567
National first-name rank
People counted
331
331 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
72.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rahi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rahi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.2%. The next largest groups are White (13.9%) and Two or More Races (6.3%). 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 Rahi 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 Rahi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander72.2% · 239
- White13.9% · 46
- Two or more races6.3% · 21
- Black or African American3.6% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Rahi
Rahi is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 228 total registrations, 52 (22.8%) were male and 176 (77.2%) were female.
Rahi as a male name
- Ranked #13,719 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (8 births)
Rahi as a female name
- Ranked #6,090 in 2024
- 20 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (20 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Rahi on both sides of the split. Of the 327 people counted with this name, 147 were male (45.0%) and 180 were female (55.0%).
Popularity
Rahi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rahi from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 93 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Rahi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rahi 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 Rahi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rahi
The name Rahi has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the Sanskrit language. It is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word "rahi," which means "traveler" or "wanderer." The name gained prominence during the ancient and medieval periods in India, and it is often associated with spiritual seekers and individuals who embarked on journeys of self-discovery.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rahi can be found in the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. In this epic, Rahi is mentioned as a sage who imparted wisdom and spiritual guidance to the Pandava brothers during their exile. This association with wisdom and spirituality has contributed to the name's enduring popularity in Hindu traditions.
In the 7th century CE, a renowned Indian mathematician and astronomer named Rahi Aryabhata made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and astronomy. He is credited with introducing the concept of zero and the decimal system, as well as accurately calculating the Earth's circumference and the length of the solar year. His works had a profound impact on the development of science in India and beyond.
Another notable figure from history who bore the name Rahi was Rahi Baba, a 16th-century Sufi mystic and saint from present-day Pakistan. He was revered for his spiritual teachings and is remembered for his devotional poetry, which continues to inspire and guide seekers on the path of Sufism.
In the 19th century, Rahi was the name of a celebrated Urdu poet from the Indian subcontinent. His poetic works, known for their depth and contemplative nature, explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition. He was widely acclaimed for his mastery of the Urdu language and his ability to convey profound insights through his poetry.
While the name Rahi is more commonly found in the Indian subcontinent, it has also been embraced by individuals from other cultures and regions. For instance, Rahi Jaffer, a contemporary Canadian artist of Indian descent, has gained recognition for her thought-provoking installations and sculptures that explore themes of identity, migration, and cultural fusion.
People
Rahi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rahi as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rahi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rahi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 226 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rahi 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 1,516,612 US residents.
Is Rahi a common name?
We classify Rahi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 228 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rahi most popular?
The single biggest year for Rahi was 2024, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rahi is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rahi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 331 people with the name Rahi, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,567 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 Rahi 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 Rahi?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Rahi on both sides of the split. Of the 327 people counted with this name, 147 were male (45.0%) and 180 were female (55.0%). 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 Rahi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rahi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.2%. The next largest groups are White (13.9%) and Two or More Races (6.3%). 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 Rahi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Rahi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.2% (239 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 Rahi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rahi a female name?
Yes, 77.2% of people registered as Rahi 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.
Is Rahi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rahi 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 Rahi 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 Rahi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.