Decade-by-decade study tracks popular Indian names: Is your name in the list?

The old Bollywood saying of ‘Rahul, Naam to suna hi hoga’ (Rahul, must have heard the name) is not far from reality unlike other cinema stuff, as a report tracking Indian names listed Raj as one of the Top 10 favourite names from 1991 to 2025.

A platform named iMeUsWe, India’s first family platform linking the past with the future through ancestry, communities, and astrology, released its ‘The Names of India Report’, a decade-by-decade study tracking popular Indian names from 1947 to 2025.

Based on the analysis of 1.6 billion real public records, the report reveals how Indian families have reflected faith, aspiration, cinema, and social change through the names they chose across generations.

Since independence, these have been the most favourite names for Indians:

Girl names

• Lakshmi
• Sunita
• Gita
• Anita
• Pooja
• Sangita
• Rekha
• Rani
• Suman
• Mamta

Boy names

• Ram
• Santosh
• Sanjay
• Rajesh
• Shaikh
• Prem
• Ramesh
• Shiv
• Sunil
• Anil

Decade by decade list for favourite Indian names:

1947-1960

Girls: Lakshmi, Gita, Shanti, Sunita, Kamala, Anita, Sita, Rekha, Rani, Suman

Boys: Ram, Mohammed, Krishna, Ramesh, Prem, Shiv, Santosh, Ashok, Abdul, Babu

1961-1970

Girls: Lakshmi, Gita, Shanti, Sunita, Kamala, Meena, Sita, Asha, Anita, Usha

Boys: Ram, Ramesh, Ashok, Suresh, Rajendra, Abdul, Shiv, Babu, Krishna, Shankar

1971-1980

Girls: Lakshmi, Sunita, Gita, Anita, Sangita, Rekha, Meena, Manju, Asha, Shanti

Boys: Ram, Sanjay, Ramesh, Santosh, Ashok, Suresh, Rajesh, Prem, Shiv, Anil

1981-1990

Girls: Sunita, Anita, Lakshmi, Sangita, Gita, Rekha, Rani, Mamta, Savita, Manju

Boys: Sanjosh, Sanjay, Ram, Rajesh, Sunil, Manoj, Ramesh, Raju, Anil, Prem

1991-2000

Girls: Pooja, Sunita, Anita, Lakshmi, Priyanka, Jyoti, Mamta, Sangita, Rekha, Rani

Boys: Rahul, Mohammed, Sunil, Santosh, Rajesh, Sanjay, Deepak, Anil, Raju, Ajay

2001-2010

Girls: Pooja, Priya, Lakshmi, Arti, Jyoti, Kajal, Poonam, Anita, Neha, Rani

Boys: Rahul, Deepak, Rohit, Akash, Ajay, Shaikh, Raju, Vikas, Suraj, Amit

2011-2025

Girls: Pooja, Kajal, Priyanka, Rani, Arti, Neha, Lakshmi, Priti, Anjali, Suman

Boys: Rahul, Rohit, Ankit, Ram, Mohammed, Suraj, Deepak, Raju, Shaikh, Raj