Raekwon
Of disputed origin, possibly referring to a lion in Arabic.
Name Census estimates that about 2,242 living Americans carry the first name Raekwon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Raekwon today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raekwon births was 1996 (451 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raekwon. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Raekwon with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.2K
~ 1 in 152,879 Americans
Peak year
1996
451 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,708
Tracked since 1994
Census
Raekwon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,461 people with the first name Raekwon, which placed it at #9,490 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,490
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,461 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
87.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raekwon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raekwon is Black at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Hispanic (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Raekwon described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Raekwon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American87.3% · 1,275
- Two or more races5.7% · 83
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 58
- White1.8% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Raekwon
Out of the 2,284 babies given the name Raekwon since 1880, 99.7% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Raekwon as a male name
- Ranked #6,708 in 2024
- 13 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1996 (445 births)
Raekwon as a female name
- Ranked #13,050 in 1996
- 6 female births in 1996
- Peak: 1996 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raekwon appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,458 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Raekwon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raekwon from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,504 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raekwon 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 Raekwon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Raekwons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina recorded the most babies named Raekwon, while Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 63 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Raekwon
The name Raekwon has its origins in the Akan language, spoken by the Akan people of West Africa, particularly in Ghana and Ivory Coast. The name is believed to have emerged in the 17th or 18th century, during the height of the powerful Ashanti Empire.
Raekwon is derived from the Akan words "Ra" meaning "to remain" or "to stay," and "kwon" meaning "great" or "mighty." The name can be interpreted as "one who remains great" or "one who stays mighty." It was originally bestowed upon individuals who demonstrated exceptional strength, resilience, and perseverance.
In the early 19th century, the name Raekwon appeared in historical records documenting the Ashanti-British wars, where it was associated with brave Ashanti warriors and chiefs who fiercely defended their lands against British colonization efforts.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Raekwon was Raekwon Asante, a prominent Ashanti chief who led his people in battles against the British in the late 1820s. He was known for his unwavering courage and strategic leadership.
Another notable figure was Raekwon Owusu, an Ashanti diplomat and negotiator who played a crucial role in brokering peace treaties between the Ashanti and the British in the mid-19th century, helping to preserve the Ashanti Kingdom's autonomy.
In the 20th century, the name Raekwon gained popularity among the African diaspora, particularly in the United States. One of the most famous individuals with this name is Raekwon, an American rapper and member of the influential hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan. Born Corey Woods in 1970, he adopted the stage name Raekwon and became renowned for his lyrical prowess and contributions to the Wu-Tang Clan's groundbreaking sound.
Another notable figure is Raekwon Haynes, an American professional basketball player born in 1988, who played for several teams in the NBA and internationally. His athletic abilities and skill on the court earned him recognition and a dedicated fan base.
In the realm of literature, Raekwon Butcher is an acclaimed British author and poet of Ghanaian descent, born in 1975. His works explore themes of identity, culture, and the African diaspora experience, garnering critical acclaim and numerous literary awards.
While the name Raekwon has its roots in the Akan culture, it has transcended its origins and has been embraced by individuals of various backgrounds, particularly those with ties to African heritage, as a symbol of strength, perseverance, and cultural pride.
People
Raekwon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raekwon as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Raekwon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raekwon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,242 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raekwon 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 152,879 US residents.
Is Raekwon a common name?
We classify Raekwon as "Rare". It ranks above 94.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,284 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raekwon most popular?
The single biggest year for Raekwon was 1996, when 451 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raekwon is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raekwon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,461 people with the name Raekwon, or 0.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,490 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Raekwon in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Raekwon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raekwon appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,458 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Raekwon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raekwon is Black at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Hispanic (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Raekwon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Raekwon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (1,275 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Raekwon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raekwon a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Raekwon in the SSA data are male. 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.
Is Raekwon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raekwon in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Raekwon can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have the name Raekwon?
See how many people share the name Raekwon on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.