| Aniket | Rakesh | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Without a home (Shiva) | Lord of the full moon |
| Origin | sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | uh-ni-KAYT | rah-KESH |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2003 (29) | 1980 (21) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Aniket | Rakesh |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 16 | 0 |
| 2010s | 122 | 11 |
| 2000s | 171 | 58 |
| 1990s | 22 | 75 |
| 1980s | 0 | 153 |
| 1970s | 0 | 129 |
| 1960s | 0 | 16 |
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.
Rakesh combines Sanskrit raka ('full moon' or the full-moon night) and isha ('lord, ruler'), i.e. 'lord of the full moon,' per Monier-Williams. A genuine, dictionary-backed lunar name.
Aniket and Rakesh are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Aniket means Without a home (Shiva) (sanskrit origin), while Rakesh means Lord of the full moon (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Aniket first appears in 0 and Rakesh in 0, so Aniket has the longer recorded history.