Name Awesome

Rama

#11,695 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Possibly sooty, through राम

Rama has been given to 1,406 babies in the U.S. since 1897. In 2025 it ranked #11,695 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2010, with 36 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 80% girls, 20% boys all-time.

Babies named Rama, 2025

1 in 414,000

Rama over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
01020304018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Rama over time

In 2025, Rama went to 42% girls and 58% boys.

18972025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Rama: meaning, origin, and history

Possibly sooty, through राम

Sanskrit

What Rama means

Rama belongs to the name family reached through Rama → राम. Its meaning is “sooty”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Borrowed from Sanskrit राम (rāma). * (Oumuamua): The nickname derives from the similarity of Oumuamua to the fictional object "Rama" in the story Rendezvous with Rama, where that fictional object is named for the god.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Rama (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Rama is used in English. Its origins include Sanskrit.

Rama comes through Sanskrit राम.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include राम.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Rama is pronounced /rɑm(ə)/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,130 girls were recorded with the name Rama between 1897 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 36 in 2010; its best national rank was #1,748 in 1897.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #16,987 in 2020 to #11,695 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #6,196 in 2015 to #11,695 in 2025.

In the United States, 276 boys were recorded with the name Rama between 1970 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 16 in 1974; its best national rank was #2,530 in 1974.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #10,343 in 2020 to #7,556 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #8,563 in 2015 to #7,556 in 2025.

How common is Rama?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 414,000
8 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 201,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#11,695
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
287,238 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Rama sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 287,238 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Rama. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Ramas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Rama was born before 1997 — so the typical Rama is around 28 today.

Median birth year
1997
About 28 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
21.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
43.9%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
839
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 21.0% of all recorded uses (237).

Is Rama rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−5,351
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+5,292
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
−5,499
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.38×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
22.2%
Peak was 2010 (36)
Years since peak
15
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
31.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,748
1897

Spellings of Rama

Rama is not the most common spelling — Emma is, with 15.2% against Rama's 0.02%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Rama is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Rama was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 919,813 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Illinois1 in —
  3. 3New York1 in —
  4. 4Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Rama has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Rama is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Rama was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 2,905,450 across all states with data.

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Rama has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Rama around the world

Where Rama ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1999–2025
    #5,927
    in 2025
  • France
    1956–2025
    #2,195
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1999–2022
    #2,577
    in 2022
  • South Australia
    1959–2008
    #796
    in 2008

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Rama by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#11,695
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 5,292
Best rank ever
#1,748
1897
Peak year
2010
36 that year
First recorded
1897
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,130
Count in 2025
8

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#7,556
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 2,787
Best rank ever
#2,530
1974
Peak year
1974
16 that year
First recorded
1970
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
276
Count in 2025
11

Names similar to Rama

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

RamyaRameySamaLamaAmaRamahRamlaRamseyRamiahRamiyahRamiaRamiyaRamieAdamaTamaRamonRamiJamaRameenKamaRamaniNaamaBamaRamata

Sibling names for Rama

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Rama

Top names of 2010, Rama's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 1897Girls' names starting with R