Rahul
A masculine Hindu name meaning "conqueror of the universe".
Name Census estimates that about 3,243 living Americans carry the first name Rahul. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rahul today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rahul births was 2000 (196 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rahul. 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 Rahul with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.2K
~ 1 in 105,691 Americans
Peak year
2000
196 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,968
Tracked since 1966
Census
Rahul in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,068 people with the first name Rahul, which placed it at #2,457 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
#2,457
National first-name rank
People counted
10K
10,068 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
94.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rahul
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rahul is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.5%) and Hispanic (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 Rahul 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 Rahul at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.3% · 9,498
- White2.5% · 255
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 112
- Two or more races1.0% · 99
- Black or African American0.7% · 75
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 29
Popularity
Rahul: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rahul 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 1,355 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
Rahul 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 Rahul during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rahuls live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. California, New Jersey, New York recorded the most babies named Rahul, while Washington, Minnesota, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 116 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rahul
The given name Rahul has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the root for many modern Indian languages. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Raghul," which means "to be separated" or "to be free." This name has been in use for centuries, dating back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures.
One of the earliest references to the name Rahul can be found in the Hindu epic Ramayana, where it is mentioned as the name of a prince, the son of the legendary King Rama. In the Ramayana, Prince Rahul is described as a brave and virtuous young man, who accompanies his father on his journey to defeat the demon king Ravana.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Rahul. One of the earliest recorded examples is Rahul Sankrityayan (1893-1963), an Indian scholar, writer, and revolutionary who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement. He was known for his extensive travels across Asia and his work in promoting Buddhist studies and literature.
Another prominent figure was Rahul Gandhi (born 1970), an Indian politician and former president of the Indian National Congress party. He is the son of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the grandson of Indira Gandhi, both prominent leaders in Indian politics.
In the field of sports, Rahul Dravid (born 1973) is a celebrated Indian cricketer who played for the Indian national team from 1996 to 2012. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket and has been honored with numerous awards and accolades for his contributions to the sport.
Rahul Bajaj (born 1938) is an Indian industrialist and former chairman of the Bajaj Group, one of the largest business conglomerates in India. He is known for his philanthropic efforts and has received several prestigious awards for his contributions to industry and society.
Rahul Yadav (born 1988) is an Indian entrepreneur and former CEO of the now-defunct e-commerce company Housing.com. He gained significant attention for his unconventional leadership style and controversial statements, which ultimately led to his resignation from the company.
The name Rahul has transcended cultural and geographical boundaries, with variations and adaptations found in various languages and regions. It has become a popular name choice for parents worldwide, with its roots deeply embedded in the rich cultural heritage of South Asia.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Rahul
People
Rahul + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rahul 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
Rahul: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rahul?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,243 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rahul 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 105,691 US residents.
Is Rahul a common name?
We classify Rahul as "Rare". It ranks above 95.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,324 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rahul most popular?
The single biggest year for Rahul was 2000, when 196 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rahul is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rahul in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,068 people with the name Rahul, or 3.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,457 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 Rahul 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 Rahul?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rahul appears almost entirely male. Of the 10,064 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Rahul?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rahul is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.5%) and Hispanic (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 Rahul most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Rahul in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (9,498 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 Rahul in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rahul a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rahul 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 Rahul still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rahul 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 Rahul 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 Rahul?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.