Given name & surname
Raj
“to be striped”·“a king”
In English use, Raj is a diminutive of Rajiv. One Hindi interpretation is “to be striped.” Raj is a variant of Rajan. One Indian interpretation is “a king.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Raj is a diminutive of Rajiv. One Hindi interpretation is “to be striped.” Raj is a variant of Rajan. One Indian interpretation is “a king.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Sanskrit.
How it developed
It comes from the Sanskrit word raja, meaning “king.”
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1950. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Raj through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,176
- 2,176 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2003
- 88 babies
- 2025
- 22
- #4,671 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −9%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 22 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,671 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 8.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 88 in 2003. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,427 as a first name in 2020; 4,063 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Raj’s family of names
In English usage, Raj is a diminutive of Rajiv. In English usage, Raj as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with REICH. Raj has a related form in Rajan.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Raj
- Raj KapoorIndian actor and filmmaker (1924–1988)
- Raj ReddyIndian-American computer scientistborn 1937
- Raj BabbarIndian actor and politician (born 1952)
- Raj PatelBritish academic, film director (born 1972)
- Raj ChettyAmerican economistborn 1979
- Raj Chandra BoseIndian mathematician (1901–1987)
- Raj ThackerayIndian politicianborn 1968
- Raj Bhavsargymnastborn 1980
- R. K. SinghIndian politician & Former Home Secretaryborn 1952
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Raj, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Rajarshi
“the king's sage”
>99% boys
Hansraj
“the swan king”
98% boys · 2% girls
Nataraj
“king of dancers”
97% boys · 3% girls
Rehalan
“Ruler, King of the whole existence”
—
Kanvar
“a young prince”
>99% boys
Amer
“a prince” · “from the treetop”
>99% boys
Himesh
“the snow king”
>99% boys
গুপ্ত
“guardian”
—