Radu
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- RA-doo
- Origin
- Slavic
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,742 for boys
Radu is a boys' name of Slavic origin, meaning “glad, happy”. In 2025 it ranked 2,742nd for boys in the UK (8 babies).
What does Radu mean?
Slavic: Romanian name from Slavic rad, glad
“glad, happy”
Radu the Handsome, brother of Vlad the Impaler, ruled Wallachia in the 15th century.
Is Radu a girl's or a boy's name?
Radu is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 8 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Radu in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 2,742nd among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 8 about 1 in 37,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 52% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 8 boys in the UK were named Radu, making it the 2,742nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,052nd. Its busiest year was 2019, with 19 boys.
Half of all the boys named Radu in the UK since 1996 were born between 2016 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 2,658th in England and Wales.
Radu in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #2,742 |
| 2024 | 8 | #2,750 |
| 2023 | 5 | #3,712 |
| 2022 | 10 | #2,279 |
| 2021 | 12 | #1,969 |
| 2020 | 11 | #2,052 |
| 2019 | 19 | #1,412 |
| 2018 | 14 | #1,803 |
| 2017 | 12 | #2,037 |
| 2016 | 13 | #1,909 |
| 2015 | 8 | #2,614 |
| 2014 | 4 | #4,063 |
| 2013 | 6 | #3,096 |
| 2012 | 3 | #4,999 |
| 2011 | 4 | #3,986 |
| 2010 | 5 | #3,478 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 3 | #4,615 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 3 | #4,204 |
Names like Radu
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Muhammad, Musa, Zayaan, Zayd, Ibrahim, Zayan, Abdullah, Mustafa, Raheem, Rayyan, Ahmed, Rafi
Names related to Radu
More Slavic names
Mila, Milan, Vera, Mira, Nadia, Milana, Rayna, Zora, Milena, Raina, Damir, Lev, Siyana, Vlad, Lilyana, Yuri
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Radu: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/radu, updated 20 October 2026.