Ravan
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "night wanderer" or "demon".
Name Census estimates that about 221 living Americans carry the first name Ravan. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ravan today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ravan births was 1994 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ravan. 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.
People living today
221
~ 1 in 1,550,925 Americans
Peak year
1994
22 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2005 SSA rank
#15,994
Tracked since 1977
Census
Ravan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 290 people with the first name Ravan, which placed it at #30,183 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
#30,183
National first-name rank
People counted
290
290 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
42.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ravan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ravan is Black at 42.8%. The next largest groups are White (33.8%) and Two or More Races (8.3%). 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 Ravan 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 Ravan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American42.8% · 124
- White33.8% · 98
- Two or more races8.3% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino7.9% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.2% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Ravan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ravan from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 143 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ravan 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 Ravan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ravans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ravan
The name Ravan has its origins in the Sanskrit language and Hinduism, dating back to ancient times in the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Ravana," which means "the roarer" or "the one with an awe-inspiring voice." This name is closely associated with the main antagonist in the Hindu epic Ramayana, written around the 5th century BCE to the 5th century CE.
In the Ramayana, Ravana is portrayed as the powerful and intelligent king of Lanka (present-day Sri Lanka). He is described as a skilled warrior, a great scholar, and a devotee of Lord Shiva. However, his arrogance and desire for power led him to abduct Sita, the wife of Lord Rama, triggering a great war that ultimately resulted in his downfall.
The earliest recorded example of the name Ravana can be found in the Ramayana itself, where he is depicted as a complex character with both heroic and villainous traits. Over time, the name Ravan has been used to represent strength, courage, and leadership, but also a cautionary tale about the consequences of unchecked ambition and ego.
One of the most famous historical figures bearing the name Ravan was Maharaja Ravan Singh (1627-1667), a Rajput ruler of the princely state of Kishangarh in Rajasthan, India. He is renowned for his architectural contributions, including the construction of the Kishangarh Fort and the promotion of the Kishangarh school of miniature painting.
Another notable individual with the name Ravan was Ravan Chhaya (1910-1935), a freedom fighter from India who participated in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule. He was hanged by the British authorities for his involvement in the revolutionary activities of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.
In more recent times, Ravan Naidu (1957-present) is a South African cricketer who played for the national team in the 1990s and is considered one of the best all-rounders in the country's cricketing history.
Ravan Samraat (1966-present) is an Indian classical singer and composer, known for his contributions to the Hindustani classical music tradition. He has received numerous awards and accolades, including the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian honors in India.
Ravan Deni (1977-present) is a Fijian rugby union player who represented his country in several international tournaments and is regarded as one of the best players in Fijian rugby history.
People
Ravan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ravan 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
Ravan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ravan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 221 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ravan 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 1,550,925 US residents.
Is Ravan a common name?
We classify Ravan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 231 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ravan most popular?
The single biggest year for Ravan was 1994, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ravan is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ravan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 290 people with the name Ravan, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,183 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 Ravan 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 Ravan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ravan leans strongly female. 240 people counted with this name were female (82.5%), compared with 51 male bearers (17.5%). 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 Ravan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ravan is Black at 42.8%. The next largest groups are White (33.8%) and Two or More Races (8.3%). 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 Ravan most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ravan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.8% (124 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 Ravan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ravan a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ravan 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 Ravan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ravan 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 Ravan 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 Ravan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.