Fun Facts About the Name Taraji
- More than 2 thousand babies named Taraji: U.S. records list 2,813 babies given the name Taraji from 1880 through 2025. Even 50 boys received the name Taraji - about 1 boy for every 55 girls.
What Does the Name Taraji Mean?
Taraji is a Swahili name meaning "hope" or "expectation." Its source is the Arabic noun rajāʾ (رجاء), "hope," which passed into Swahili through the long contact between Arabic-speaking traders, settlers, and scholars and the communities of the East African coast. In Swahili, taraji is a noun for hope or expectation, and the related verb tarajia means "to hope for" or "to expect." The name therefore keeps the literal sense of the Arabic root rather than a looser symbolic reading.
Taraji Name History & Origins
The name belongs to the Swahili-speaking world of East Africa, especially the coastal regions of Kenya and Tanzania, where Swahili has long been the everyday and literary language. Arabic vocabulary entered Swahili over many centuries of Indian Ocean trade, settlement, and the spread of Islam along that coast, and personal names drawn from Arabic form a large part of the Swahili name stock. Taraji is one of these Arabic-derived words that also serves as a given name, most often for girls.
Swahili pronunciation places the stress on the next-to-last syllable, giving ta-RA-ji. Outside East Africa the name appears in the United States and other English-speaking countries, where it is borne by the American actress Taraji P. Henson, among others.
How Popular is the Name Taraji?
Taraji recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2010. Its best rank was #680 in 2010.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #7,853 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2024 | #4,269 | 34 | 0.0021% |
| 2023 | #4,261 | 34 | 0.0021% |
| 2022 | #4,282 | 34 | 0.0021% |
| 2021 | #3,064 | 54 | 0.0033% |
| 2020 | #2,745 | 61 | 0.0038% |
| 2019 | #2,504 | 71 | 0.0042% |
| 2018 | #2,144 | 89 | 0.0052% |
| 2017 | #1,823 | 114 | 0.0066% |
| 2016 | #1,539 | 147 | 0.0083% |
| 2015 | #1,113 | 232 | 0.0130% |
| 2014 | #1,225 | 200 | 0.0112% |
| 2013 | #1,247 | 192 | 0.0109% |
| 2012 | #858 | 311 | 0.0177% |
| 2011 | #800 | 339 | 0.0193% |
| 2010 | #680 | 423 | 0.0238% |
| 2009 | #878 | 314 | 0.0171% |
| 2008 | #5,125 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 2007 | #6,528 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2006 | #4,353 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 2005 | #14,371 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2002 | #11,010 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #11,941 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2012 | #13,981 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2011 | #10,646 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2010 | #6,328 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2009 | #6,764 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2006 | #13,785 | 5 | 0.0002% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Taraji Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You like to control everyone within your influence, to shape things to your own liking. If positive, you develop high spirituality, as you have a God's protection. You are sensitive, affectionate, imaginative and cooperative, spiritually aware and prone to self-sacrifice. You can keep secrets and are a good diplomat. You may have healing and psychic powers. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are seeking freedom, opportunities to enjoy life: to make love, to go places and to do things. You are very adventurous and willing to take risk to achieve your objectives. New ways and new experiences can't satisfy your restless nature. One adventure leads you to another. You are honest and fair, because you know that this is the only way to receive justice and honesty from other people. But your personal growth is vital for you, and it is difficult to be tied down by rules and obligations. Your restless spirit might best controlled by choosing the field of work that meet your demand for action and adventure.
✦ Taraji's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Taraji's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.