# Raj (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/raj/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 2,672 |
| US rank (2010) | 11,728 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 115,548 people |
| Change since 2000 | +86% (1,437 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ɹɑd͡ʒ/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## 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.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Raj in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 7.1% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.9% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 82% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 7.5% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Raj in the United States.

## People named Raj

- Rhea Raj, American singer-songwriter (born 2000)

## Similar surnames

Raja, Raju, Rak, Ras, Reyes, Ruiz, Ross, Rose, Rice, Rios, Reese, Rocha.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.