Rishi
A name of Sanskrit origin meaning "sage" or "scholar".
Name Census estimates that about 4,858 living Americans carry the first name Rishi. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rishi today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rishi births was 2023 (228 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rishi. 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 Rishi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.9K
~ 1 in 70,555 Americans
Peak year
2023
228 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,107
Tracked since 1974
Census
Rishi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,176 people with the first name Rishi, which placed it at #3,816 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
#3,816
National first-name rank
People counted
5.2K
5,176 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
89.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rishi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rishi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and White (3.0%). 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 Rishi 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 Rishi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander89.9% · 4,652
- Two or more races3.7% · 190
- White3.0% · 153
- Black or African American1.8% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 33
Popularity
Rishi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rishi from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,578 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Rishi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rishi 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 Rishi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rishis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Texas recorded the most babies named Rishi, while Tennessee, Indiana, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 164 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rishi
The name Rishi is derived from the Sanskrit language and has its origins in ancient India. It is believed to have been in use since the Vedic period, which dates back to around 1500-500 BCE. The word "Rishi" in Sanskrit means a sage, seer, or enlightened being.
In Hindu mythology and sacred texts like the Vedas, Upanishads, and Puranas, Rishis were revered as wise and enlightened individuals who had attained a deep understanding of the spiritual realm and the cosmos. They were often depicted as mystics and poets who composed hymns, taught spiritual knowledge, and guided others on the path of enlightenment.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rishi can be found in the Rigveda, one of the oldest and most sacred Hindu scriptures. The Rigveda mentions several Rishis, including Vishvamitra, Vashishtha, and Agastya, who were renowned for their spiritual wisdom and poetic compositions.
Throughout history, the name Rishi has been borne by various notable figures. One of the most famous was Rishi Kanada, an ancient Indian philosopher and sage who is credited with founding the Vaisheshika school of Hindu philosophy, which focused on the study of the nature of atoms and the physical world. He is believed to have lived around the 6th century BCE.
Another prominent individual with the name Rishi was Rishi Kashyap, an ancient sage and author of several Hindu scriptures, including the Kashyap Samhita, which deals with various aspects of Hindu life and rituals. He is thought to have lived around the 8th century BCE.
In more recent times, Rishi Aurobindo (1872-1950) was a renowned Indian philosopher, yogi, and spiritual teacher who played a prominent role in the Indian independence movement before devoting himself to spiritual pursuits. He developed an influential philosophy known as Integral Yoga and founded the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry.
Rishi Nath Arya (1887-1967) was an eminent Indian freedom fighter, social reformer, and politician who actively participated in the Indian independence movement. He served as a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and played a significant role in shaping the country's constitution.
Rishi Kapoor (1952-2020) was a legendary Indian actor who had a career spanning several decades in Bollywood. He was a recipient of numerous accolades, including the National Film Award and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, and is regarded as one of the most influential actors in Indian cinema.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Rishi
People
Rishi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rishi 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
Rishi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rishi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,858 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rishi 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 70,555 US residents.
Is Rishi a common name?
We classify Rishi as "Rare". It ranks above 96.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,934 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rishi most popular?
The single biggest year for Rishi was 2023, when 228 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rishi is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rishi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,176 people with the name Rishi, or 1.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,816 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 Rishi 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 Rishi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rishi appears almost entirely male. Of the 5,176 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Rishi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rishi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and White (3.0%). 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 Rishi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Rishi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (4,652 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 Rishi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rishi a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rishi 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 Rishi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rishi 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 Rishi 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 have Rishi as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Rishi on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.