Rahsaan
An Arabic name meaning "Watchful guardian" or "Good path".
Name Census estimates that about 1,544 living Americans carry the first name Rahsaan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rahsaan today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rahsaan births was 1973 (116 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rahsaan. 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 Rahsaan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 221,991 Americans
Peak year
1973
116 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,915
Tracked since 1970
Census
Rahsaan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,090 people with the first name Rahsaan, which placed it at #11,669 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
#11,669
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,090 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
88.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rahsaan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rahsaan is Black at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Rahsaan 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 Rahsaan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American88.6% · 966
- Two or more races5.4% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 34
- White1.7% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Rahsaan
Out of the 1,620 babies given the name Rahsaan since 1880, 99.6% 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.
Rahsaan as a male name
- Ranked #11,967 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1973 (116 births)
Rahsaan as a female name
- Ranked #8,915 in 1976
- 6 female births in 1976
- Peak: 1976 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rahsaan leans strongly male. 1,072 people counted with this name were male (97.8%), compared with 24 female bearers (2.2%).
Popularity
Rahsaan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rahsaan from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 742 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rahsaan 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 Rahsaan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rahsaans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. New York, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Rahsaan, while Virginia, Michigan, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 53 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rahsaan
The name Rahsaan is an Arabic name that originated in the Middle East. It is derived from the Arabic root word "rahasa," which means "to be watchful" or "to guard." The name itself means "watchful" or "vigilant."
In its earliest recorded usage, the name Rahsaan was found in ancient Arabic texts and manuscripts dating back to the 7th century CE. During this time, the Islamic faith was spreading rapidly across the Middle East and North Africa, and many Arabic names gained popularity among Muslims.
One of the earliest known references to the name Rahsaan can be found in the writings of the renowned Islamic scholar and philosopher, Al-Ghazali, who lived from 1058 to 1111 CE. In his work, Al-Ghazali mentions a man named Rahsaan ibn Abdallah, who was a respected scholar and teacher of Islamic jurisprudence.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Rahsaan. One of the most famous was Rahsaan Roland Kirk, an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer who lived from 1935 to 1977. Kirk was known for his ability to play multiple instruments simultaneously and for his unique improvisational style.
Another notable Rahsaan was Rahsaan Bayee, an American basketball player who played for several NBA teams in the 1970s and 1980s. Bayee was born in 1952 and played for teams such as the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets.
In the realm of literature, Rahsaan Shanti was a renowned Afro-Caribbean poet and writer who lived from 1936 to 2009. Shanti's works explored themes of identity, diaspora, and social justice, and he was a prominent figure in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
Another notable figure with the name Rahsaan was Rahsaan Langford, an American blues singer and guitarist who was active in the 1960s and 1970s. Langford was known for his soulful vocals and his unique blend of blues and R&B styles.
Finally, Rahsaan Noor was a Somali politician and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Somalia from 1964 to 1967. Noor played a pivotal role in the country's politics during the post-colonial era and was instrumental in shaping Somalia's foreign policy.
People
Rahsaan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rahsaan 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
Rahsaan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rahsaan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,544 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rahsaan 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 221,991 US residents.
Is Rahsaan a common name?
We classify Rahsaan as "Rare". It ranks above 92.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,620 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rahsaan most popular?
The single biggest year for Rahsaan was 1973, when 116 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rahsaan is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rahsaan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,090 people with the name Rahsaan, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,669 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 Rahsaan 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 Rahsaan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rahsaan leans strongly male. 1,072 people counted with this name were male (97.8%), compared with 24 female bearers (2.2%). 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 Rahsaan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rahsaan is Black at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Rahsaan most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Rahsaan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (966 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 Rahsaan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rahsaan a male name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Rahsaan 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 Rahsaan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rahsaan 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 Rahsaan 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 called Rahsaan?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.