Fraya
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Fräki, meaning "from Franconia".
Name Census estimates that about 213 living Americans carry the first name Fraya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Fraya today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fraya births was 2021 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fraya. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
213
~ 1 in 1,609,175 Americans
Peak year
2021
28 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,658
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Fraya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fraya from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 108 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fraya by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Fraya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fraya
The name Fraya has its origins in the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic peoples of Scandinavia and other parts of Northern Europe during the Viking Age, approximately from the 8th to the 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old Norse word "freyja," which means "lady" or "mistress."
Freyja was the name of the Norse goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, and was one of the most revered deities in the Norse pantheon. She was often associated with the spring and the renewal of life, and was said to ride a chariot pulled by cats.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Fraya date back to the 12th century, when it was used by Scandinavian nobility and royalty. One notable historical figure with this name was Fraya Pedersdatter, a Norwegian noblewoman who lived in the 13th century and was known for her philanthropic work.
In the 16th century, the name Fraya gained popularity in Germany and other parts of Central Europe, likely due to the influence of the Protestant Reformation and the renewed interest in pre-Christian Germanic culture and mythology.
One of the most famous historical figures named Fraya was Fraya Ebba von Marenholz, a German noblewoman who lived in the 17th century and was known for her support of the arts and literature. She hosted a literary salon in her home and was a patron of many writers and artists of her time.
Another notable figure with this name was Fraya Kalisky, a Russian-born American painter and sculptor who lived from 1900 to 1983. She was known for her abstract expressionist works and was a prominent figure in the New York art scene of the mid-20th century.
In the 19th century, the name Fraya became popular in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States. One notable American woman with this name was Fraya Ingram, a suffragist and social reformer who lived from 1872 to 1949 and played a key role in the women's suffrage movement.
Another influential figure named Fraya was Fraya Agarwal, an Indian mathematician and computer scientist who lived from 1930 to 2017. She made significant contributions to the fields of theoretical computer science and algorithms and was a pioneering figure in the field of computer science in India.
People
Fraya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fraya as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fraya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fraya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 213 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fraya going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,609,175 US residents.
Is Fraya a common name?
We classify Fraya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 214 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fraya most popular?
The single biggest year for Fraya was 2021, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fraya is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Fraya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fraya in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.