Rashan
An Arabic name meaning "truthful" or "sincere, well-mannered".
Name Census estimates that about 960 living Americans carry the first name Rashan. It is a predominantly male name (93.4% of registrations). The average person named Rashan today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rashan births was 1979 (59 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rashan. 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 Rashan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
960
~ 1 in 357,036 Americans
Peak year
1979
59 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2022 SSA rank
#10,605
Tracked since 1972
Census
Rashan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 733 people with the first name Rashan, which placed it at #15,631 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
#15,631
National first-name rank
People counted
733
733 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
80.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rashan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rashan is Black at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.6%) 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 Rashan 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 Rashan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American80.2% · 588
- Two or more races7.6% · 56
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 39
- White4.1% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Rashan
Rashan leans heavily male at 93.4% of total registrations, but 66 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Rashan as a male name
- Ranked #10,605 in 2022
- 7 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1979 (51 births)
Rashan as a female name
- Ranked #13,026 in 1993
- 6 female births in 1993
- Peak: 1974 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rashan leans strongly male. 649 people counted with this name were male (88.9%), compared with 81 female bearers (11.1%).
Popularity
Rashan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rashan 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 280 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
Rashan 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 Rashan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rashans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the most babies named Rashan, while Ohio, California, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 54 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rashan
The name Rashan has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, where it is believed to have emerged during the medieval period. It is derived from the Arabic word "rashad," which means "guidance" or "righteousness." The name carries connotations of being on the right path and following moral principles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rashan can be found in historical texts from the 9th century, where it was mentioned in connection with a renowned Islamic scholar and theologian from Basra, Iraq. This scholar, known as Rashan al-Basri, was highly respected for his contributions to the study of Islamic jurisprudence and his teachings on ethical conduct.
In the 11th century, the name gained further prominence when it was associated with Rashan al-Dimashqi, a celebrated poet and literary figure from Damascus, Syria. His works, which focused on themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, were widely acclaimed and have been preserved to this day.
Moving forward in history, the name Rashan appears in various accounts and records from different regions of the Islamic world. One notable figure was Rashan al-Andalusi, a mathematician and astronomer from medieval Andalusia (present-day Spain) in the 12th century. His contributions to the field of mathematics, particularly in the realm of trigonometry, were highly influential and paved the way for future advancements.
In the 14th century, the name was associated with Rashan al-Misri, a renowned Sufi mystic and spiritual leader from Egypt. His teachings on inner purification and the attainment of divine knowledge attracted many followers, and his legacy continues to inspire seekers of spiritual enlightenment.
Another prominent individual bearing the name Rashan was a 16th-century Ottoman calligrapher and artist known as Rashan Effendi. His mastery of the art of calligraphy and his exquisite works adorning various mosques and palaces throughout the Ottoman Empire have been celebrated as cultural treasures.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who carried the name Rashan. While the name may have evolved in its spelling and pronunciation across different regions and time periods, its underlying meaning and significance have remained rooted in the concepts of guidance, righteousness, and spiritual enlightenment.
People
Rashan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rashan 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
Rashan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rashan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 960 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rashan 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 357,036 US residents.
Is Rashan a common name?
We classify Rashan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,001 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rashan most popular?
The single biggest year for Rashan was 1979, when 59 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rashan is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rashan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 733 people with the name Rashan, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,631 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 Rashan 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 Rashan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rashan leans strongly male. 649 people counted with this name were male (88.9%), compared with 81 female bearers (11.1%). 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 Rashan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rashan is Black at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.6%) 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 Rashan most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Rashan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (588 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 Rashan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rashan a male name?
Yes, 93.4% of people registered as Rashan 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 Rashan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rashan 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 Rashan 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 common is the name Rashan?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Rashan at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.