Given name & surname · also Sanskrit
Sanjay
“one who is victorious”
Sanjay is used as a given name and a surname. One Indian interpretation is “one who is victorious.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Indian interpretation is “one who is victorious.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Sanskrit.
How it developed
The name draws on Sanskrit samjaya, meaning “triumphant”.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1962. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Sanjay through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,606
- 2,606 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2006
- 90 babies
- 2025
- 20
- #5,012 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −38%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 20 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,012 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 37.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 90 in 2006. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,737 as a first name in 2020; 255 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.
Sanjay’s family of names
Sanjay has a related form in Sanjai. Sanjay has a related form in Sanjae. Sanjay has a related form in Sanjaye.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
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 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Sanjay
- Sanjay DuttIndian actor and politicianborn 1959
- Sanjay Leela BhansaliIndian film director, producer and screenwriterborn 1963
- Sanjay GandhiIndian politician (1946-1980)
- Sanjay KapoorIndian actor (born 1965)
- Sanjay GuptaAmerican neurosurgeon, medical reporter and writerborn 1969
- Sanjay MishraIndian actorborn 1963
- Sanjay SuriIndian actorborn 1971
- Sanjay KhanIndian actorborn 1941
- Sanjay RanaIndian field hockey (born 2001)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Sanjay, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sujay
“winning a good victory”
>99% boys
Tanmay
“one who is absorbed”
>99% boys
Sajan
“one who is dearly loved”
>99% boys
Sahaj
“one who is natural”
>99% boys
Sandesh
“message, news”
>99% boys
Savir
“a great leader”
>99% boys
Sahas
“one who shows bravery”
>99% boys
Uday
“our son has arrived”
>99% boys