Rajiv
Rajiv is a masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning 'leader' or 'king'.
Name Census estimates that about 785 living Americans carry the first name Rajiv. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rajiv today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rajiv births was 1985 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rajiv. 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 Rajiv with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
785
~ 1 in 436,630 Americans
Peak year
1985
60 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,666
Tracked since 1962
Census
Rajiv in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,986 people with the first name Rajiv, which placed it at #5,661 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
#5,661
National first-name rank
People counted
3.0K
2,986 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
88.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rajiv
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rajiv is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Black (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Rajiv 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 Rajiv at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander88.7% · 2,648
- Black or African American4.1% · 123
- Two or more races3.2% · 96
- White2.3% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 13
Popularity
Rajiv: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rajiv from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 272 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rajiv 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 Rajiv during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rajivs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Rajiv, while Ohio, Michigan, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rajiv
The name Rajiv is of Sanskrit origin, deriving from the ancient Indian language that has its roots in the Indic branch of the Indo-European language family. The name is composed of two Sanskrit words: "raj," meaning "king" or "ruler," and "iv," which means "life" or "existence." Thus, the name Rajiv can be translated to mean "lord of life" or "ruler of life."
The earliest known use of the name Rajiv can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts and religious scriptures. In the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics, a character named Rajiv is mentioned as a skilled archer and warrior. Additionally, the name appears in various Puranas, ancient Hindu religious texts that narrate the histories and traditions of various dynasties and kingdoms.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rajiv in history is Rajiv Lochan, a renowned Indian mathematician and astronomer who lived during the 12th century CE. He is known for his contributions to the field of mathematics, particularly his work on the calculation of the value of pi (π).
Another notable figure with the name Rajiv was Rajiv Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India. He was born in 1944 and served as the Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989. Rajiv Gandhi played a significant role in modernizing India and introducing various economic and social reforms during his tenure.
In the field of literature, Rajiv Malhotra is a prominent Indian-American author and public speaker. He is known for his works exploring the intersection of Hinduism and Western thought, including books such as "Being Different" and "The Battle for Sanskrit."
Rajiv Sethi is an Indian-American economist and professor at Barnard College, Columbia University. He is widely recognized for his research contributions in the areas of game theory, microeconomics, and the economics of poverty and inequality.
Rajiv Ouseph is a British professional badminton player of Indian descent. He has represented England in various international tournaments, including the Olympic Games, and has won numerous titles throughout his career.
The name Rajiv has maintained its popularity and cultural significance in various parts of the Indian subcontinent and among the South Asian diaspora worldwide. While its usage may have evolved over time, the name continues to carry the essence of its Sanskrit roots, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and historical significance of the region.
People
Rajiv + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rajiv 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
Rajiv: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rajiv?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 785 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rajiv 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 436,630 US residents.
Is Rajiv a common name?
We classify Rajiv as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 820 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rajiv most popular?
The single biggest year for Rajiv was 1985, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rajiv is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rajiv in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,986 people with the name Rajiv, or 0.99 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,661 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 Rajiv 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 Rajiv?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rajiv appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,987 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 Rajiv?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rajiv is Asian/Pacific Islander at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Black (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Rajiv most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Rajiv in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.7% (2,648 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 Rajiv in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rajiv a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rajiv 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 Rajiv still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rajiv 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 Rajiv 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 Rajiv?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.