| Rakesh | Ranbir | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Lord of the full moon | Brave in battle; warrior |
| Origin | sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | rah-KESH | RUN-beer |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1980 (21) | 2011 (24) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Rakesh | Ranbir |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 0 | 31 |
| 2010s | 11 | 125 |
| 2000s | 58 | 29 |
| 1990s | 75 | 6 |
| 1980s | 153 | 0 |
| 1970s | 129 | 0 |
| 1960s | 16 | 0 |
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.
A Sanskrit/Hindi compound of rana (रण, 'battle') and vira (वीर, 'hero, brave one'), giving 'a warrior brave in battle'.
Rakesh and Ranbir are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Rakesh means Lord of the full moon (sanskrit origin), while Ranbir means Brave in battle; warrior (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Rakesh first appears in 0 and Ranbir in 0, so Rakesh has the longer recorded history.