| Aniket | Raja | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Without a home (Shiva) | king |
| Origin | sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | uh-ni-KAYT | RAH-jah |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2003 (29) | 2001 (36) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Aniket | Raja |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 16 | 95 |
| 2010s | 122 | 179 |
| 2000s | 171 | 242 |
| 1990s | 22 | 155 |
| 1980s | 0 | 109 |
| 1970s | 0 | 77 |
| 1960s | 0 | 7 |
From Sanskrit aniketa (अनिकेत), 'homeless, having no fixed abode', used as an epithet of Shiva (who belongs everywhere and nowhere). The meaning carries an ascetic, all-encompassing sense rather than a negative one.
From Sanskrit 'rajan' (nominative 'raja'), meaning 'king', ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to rule, to straighten'. (Note: the identically-spelled Arabic 'Raja' is an unrelated feminine name meaning 'hope'.)
Aniket and Raja are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Aniket means Without a home (Shiva) (sanskrit origin), while Raja means king (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Aniket first appears in 0 and Raja in 0, so Aniket has the longer recorded history.