# Raj (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/raj/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “(india) reign”, “rule”, “reign”, “empire”, “kingdom”, “country”, “state”, “royalty” |
| Pronunciation | /ɹɑd͡ʒ/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 2,176 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 2,176 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 229, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Proprialisation of raj (“(India) reign, rule”, noun), borrowed from Hindustani राज / راج (rāj, “reign, rule; empire, kingdom; country, state; royalty”), from Sanskrit राज्य (rājyá, “empire, kingdom, realm; kingship, royalty, sovereignty; country”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to right or straighten oneself; to govern, rule; just; right”). Doublet of Reich.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 48 | 2,581 |
| 2012 | 42 | 2,859 |
| 2013 | 43 | 2,752 |
| 2014 | 42 | 2,837 |
| 2015 | 39 | 3,012 |
| 2016 | 23 | 4,438 |
| 2017 | 35 | 3,295 |
| 2018 | 27 | 3,969 |
| 2019 | 31 | 3,617 |
| 2020 | 23 | 4,388 |
| 2021 | 33 | 3,475 |
| 2022 | 25 | 4,270 |
| 2023 | 27 | 4,087 |
| 2024 | 20 | 5,013 |
| 2025 | 22 | 4,671 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 14 | 1,377 |
| 2006 | 8 | 2,087 |
| 2007 | 8 | 2,211 |
| 2008 | 11 | 1,828 |
| 2009 | 6 | 2,837 |
| 2010 | 6 | 2,941 |
| 2011 | 12 | 1,788 |
| 2012 | 6 | 3,039 |
| 2013 | 5 | 3,315 |
| 2014 | 10 | 2,079 |
| 2015 | 8 | 2,483 |
| 2016 | 5 | 3,478 |
| 2017 | 3 | 4,812 |
| 2019 | 6 | 3,013 |
| 2020 | 3 | 4,608 |

## People named Raj

- Raj Patel, British academic, film director (born 1972)
- Raj Chetty, American economist
- Raj Rajaratnam, American investments manager
- Raj Kundra, British businessman

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.