| Raja | Nirav | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | king | Silent, calm, quiet |
| Origin | sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | RAH-jah | NEE-ruhv |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2001 (36) | 1984 (21) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Declining | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Raja | Nirav |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 95 | 48 |
| 2010s | 179 | 120 |
| 2000s | 242 | 63 |
| 1990s | 155 | 63 |
| 1980s | 109 | 158 |
| 1970s | 77 | 94 |
| 1960s | 7 | 0 |
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'.)
From the Sanskrit निरव (nirava), 'soundless, still', formed from nir- ('without') + rava ('sound, noise') — hence tranquil stillness. A genuine, if less common, classical formation.
Raja and Nirav are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Raja means king (sanskrit origin), while Nirav means Silent, calm, quiet (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Raja first appears in 0 and Nirav in 0, so Raja has the longer recorded history.