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Baby boys' names starting with R: 78 Indian names with meanings

Baby Names · theAsianparent · Updated

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Baby boys' names starting with R: 78 Indian names with meanings

78 names for boys beginning with R, each with the meaning our corpus records and the Devanagari spelling where we hold one.

Indian baby boys' names starting with R

R carries Rama, Radha and ravi, which makes it both the most devotional and the sunniest letter in Indian naming.

There are 78 here, each printed with its meaning and its Devanagari spelling where we hold one. Families usually arrive at a letter for one of three reasons: the birth nakshatra's pada suggests a syllable, a grandparent's name begins with it, or the family simply likes how it sounds with the surname.

Every name comes from our verified name corpus — the editorial workbooks our team maintains, cross-checked against United States birth-registration data. Names we hold no meaning for are left out rather than padded in, which is why this list is shorter than the ones that scrape a dictionary.

Boys' names starting with R (1-60)

78 names, each with the meaning our corpus records for it.

NameMeaningIn Devanagari
RohanAscendingरोहन
RaviSunरवी
RudraName of Lord Shivaरुद्र
ReyanshRay of lightरेयांश
RaghavLord Ramराघव
RudranshPart of Lord Shivaरुद्रांश
ReyanLittle king; gate of heavenरेयान
RoshanMeans "light, bright" in Persianरोशन
RajKingराज
RishabhMorality, virtueऋषभ
RajveerBrave Kingराजवीर
RajaMeans "king, ruler", from Sanskrit राजन् (rājan)राजा
RamaGod Ramराम
RitvikPriest, spiritual leaderऋत्विक
RonakBright lightरोनक
RaamdattGift of Ramरामदत्त
RaghuFamily of Lord Ramरघु
RaghunandanLord Ramरघुनंदन
RaghunathLord Rama; master of the Raghu dynasty; noble and righteousरघुनाथ
RagunathWorld of Godरघुनाथ
RahulrajKing of the Intelligentराहुलराज
RaibaName of Godरैबा
RajaniMeans "dark, night" in Sanskritरजनी
RajanikantMoonlightराजनिकांत
RajaramKing of Ramnaराजाराम
RajasMastery, Passion, Prideराजस
RajasahebKingराजासाहेब
RajashekarLord Shivaराजशेखर
RajatSilverरजत
RajathSilver, Brilliantरजत
RajdeepLight of the Kingdomराजदीप
RajdevKing of Godsराजदेव
RajendraGreat among Kingsराजेंद्र
RajeshwarLord of Kingsराजेश्वर
RajhansRoyal Swanराजहंस
RajitDecorated, Brilliantराजीत
RajithDecorated, Enrichedराजित
RajivLotusराजीव
RajkanthBeloved Kingराजकांत
RajkumarPrince, Son of a Kingराजकुमार
RajmohanFascinating Kingराजमोहन
RajnathRulerराजनाथ
RajneeshMoon, God of Nightराजनीश
RajramKingdom of Lord Ramराजराम
RajuProsperityराजू
RajvardhanKing Enhancer, Kinglyराजवर्धन
RajveersinghBrave Kingराजवीरसिंह
RamakrishnaCombination of Lord Rama and Krishnaरामकृष्ण
RamanujYounger Brother of Ramरामानुज
RamashrayProtected by Lord Ramरामाश्रय
RameshLord Ramaरमेश
RamkishoreYoung Ramरामकिशोर
RamnathLord Ramaरामनाथ
RamojiLord Ramरामोजी
RamraoKing's worldरामराव
RanaveerHero of the battlefield; brave warriorरणवीर
RanjanMeans "colouring, pleasing, delighting" in Sanskritरंजन
RanjitFrom Sanskrit रञ्जित (rañjita ) meaning "coloured, pleased, delighted"रणजित
RaoVictoriousराव
RaosahebHighnessरावसाहेब

Boys' names starting with R (61-78)

NameMeaningIn Devanagari
RathinWarrior, Charioteerरथीन
RatnabhuLord Vishnuरत्नाभू
RavichandranSun and Moonरविचंद्रन
RavikantBeloved of the Sunरविकांत
RavikiranSun Raysरविकिरण
RavirajKing of the Sunरविराज
RavishSun God, Lord Suryaरविश
RavitSunरवीत
RevanthSunरेवंथ
RigvedaA type of Vedaऋग्वेद
RishirajKing of Saintsऋषिराज
RitikJoy, Happinessऋतिक
RohitThe red rays of the sunरोहित
RoopeshLord Shivaरूपेश
RudrarajKing of Rudra (Shiva); powerful and divine rulerरुद्रराज
RupeshLord of Beautyरुपेश
RushikeshLord Vishnu, Lord of Sensesऋषिकेश
RuturajKing of Seasons, Springऋतुराज

The R names families are actually using

These are the names on this page that show up in United States birth registrations for 2025 — a real signal of which spellings Indian families abroad are registering now. India has no comparable public register, so anyone ranking names within India is estimating.

NameMeaningUS births, 2025
RohanAscending306
RaviSun160
RudraName of Lord Shiva152
ReyanshRay of light124
RaghavLord Ram87
RudranshPart of Lord Shiva68
ReyanLittle king; gate of heaven42
RoshanMeans "light, bright" in Persian30
RajKing22
RishabhMorality, virtue19
RajveerBrave King16
RajaMeans "king, ruler", from Sanskrit राजन् (rājan)14
RamaGod Ram11
RitvikPriest, spiritual leader11
RonakBright light7

Choosing between them

Say the shortlist with the surname, out loud, several times. A name that is lovely alone can be unsayable in full, and the full version is what a teacher will read from a register.

Fix the spelling before you register the birth. Romanised Indian names have several accepted spellings — the one on the birth certificate has to match the school record, the passport and the Aadhaar that follow it, and correcting them later is genuinely painful.

If your family follows the panchang, the birth nakshatra's pada decides the traditional syllable. Our birth star calculator gives the star, the pada and its syllable from the date and time of birth — start there, then look for a name on this page that fits.

And check the short form and the initials, because those are what the child will actually be called.

Frequently asked questions

Q: How many boys' names starting with R are on this page? — 78, each with a recorded meaning. Names whose meaning we cannot verify are not listed.

Q: Which is the most used? — Of the names here, Rohan (ascending) has the highest 2025 US birth count. Within India, popularity varies a great deal by state and community.

Q: Is my baby's nakshatra syllable the same as this letter? — Not necessarily. The panchang syllables are written in Devanagari and do not map one-to-one onto English letters — "Ch", "Sh" and "Th" are single sounds, for instance. Use the birth star calculator for the syllable, then match it to the Devanagari spellings in the table.

Q: Do you have girls' names for this letter? — Yes, on its own page, along with lists for the other letters and for names grouped by meaning.

Baby namesLetter RBoys

Reviewed by

  • Nakul PhatakCEO, theAsianparent India & Indonesia
    Head of theAsianparent India; father of one
  • Roshni ChuganiHead of Marketing, theAsianparent India & Singapore
    12 years in the mother-and-baby space; mother of two

Published by: theAsianparent editorial team