Raghav
Masculine · “descendant of Raghu”
Raghav is a descendant of Raghu — and Raghu was Rama's great-grandfather, which makes the name an epithet of Rama himself.
How old is the name Raghav?
Raghav first appears in US birth records in 1990 — 35 years ago. The typical Raghav alive today was born around 2012, making them about 13 years old. About 1,300 people named Raghav are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Raghav most popular?
Raghav peaked in 2025, reaching #1826 nationally. Today it ranks #1826, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Raghu to Raghav
The story of Raghav
Kalidasa's Raghuvamsha, from perhaps the fifth century, traces the solar dynasty through nineteen kings and is among the great Sanskrit poems. Raghava names Rama throughout the Ramayana. The name is common across northern India. Indian emigration brought it to America, where it appears in the registers and is in current use.
Meaning
descendant of Raghu
From the Sanskrit Raghava, 'of the Raghu line'. Raghu was a king of the solar dynasty and Rama's great-grandfather, so Raghava is one of Rama's standard epithets. Kalidasa's Raghuvamsha is the poem of the dynasty. The Sanskrit is documented and undisputed.
How the name formed
- Raghu
- Raghava
- Raghav
Related forms: राघव · Raghava · Ragavan
Pronouncing Raghav
RAH-gav
Two syllables, stress on the first. The gh is an aspirated g that English does not have.
Nicknames for Raghav
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1990
- Most boys named
- 202587 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1826reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +22.5%87 in 2025, from 71
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Raghav in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- राघव in Hindi — transliteration
- Raghava in Sanskrit — related form
- Ragavan in Tamil — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New Jersey, Texas.
Raghavs among us
people named Raghav are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 19,633 born in 2025 was named Raghav
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Kimmie test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Raghav's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Kimmie climbed just as high around 1954, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Kimmie's path sketches the road Raghav is walking now.
Raghav is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Raghav is headed
Raghav looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 39% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Raghav beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Raghav in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A major epithet of Rama and a great Sanskrit poem stand behind it.
- Raghu is available as a short form that is a complete name.
- Two clean syllables once the gh is explained.
- The aspirated gh has no English equivalent.
- The simplified Ragu collides with a pasta sauce.
- It reads as specifically Indian.
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What they receive
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Raghav
Masculine · #1826 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Raghavs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,300 people named Raghav are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Raghav in 2025?
- Raghav ranks #1826 among US boy names in 2025, with 87 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Raghav?
- About 1 in every 19,633 US boys born in 2025 was named Raghav — 87 in all.
- Will my child share the name Raghav with classmates?
- Raghav will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Raghav
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Charley#1826 · Mylan#1826 · Darell#1826 · Vladimir#1826 · Radley#1826 · Azaire#1826 · Oziah#1826 · Jaysen#1826
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Raghav? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Raghav and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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