Raela
An Aboriginal name meaning "leaf" or "petal".
Name Census estimates that about 294 living Americans carry the first name Raela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Raela today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raela births was 2020 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raela. 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 Raela with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
294
~ 1 in 1,165,831 Americans
Peak year
2020
29 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,733
Tracked since 1989
Census
Raela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 237 people with the first name Raela, which placed it at #34,427 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
#34,427
National first-name rank
People counted
237
237 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raela is White at 59.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.6%) and Two or More Races (10.1%). 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 Raela 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 Raela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.1% · 140
- Black or African American18.6% · 44
- Two or more races10.1% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino8.9% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Raela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raela from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 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
Raela 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 Raela 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 Raela
The name Raela is a unique and intriguing moniker with roots that can be traced back to various cultures and linguistic origins. Its earliest recorded use can be found in ancient Sanskrit texts, where it was interpreted as a combination of the words "raa," meaning "night," and "ela," meaning "moon." This etymology suggests that the name may have been initially bestowed upon individuals born under a celestial alignment or during a particularly luminous night.
In the centuries that followed, the name Raela found its way into various regional dialects across the Indian subcontinent, with slight variations in pronunciation and spelling. One notable example is the ancient Tamil text, the Silappatikaram, which references a character named "Raeladevi," believed to be a powerful queen or goddess revered for her beauty and wisdom.
As trade routes and cultural exchanges facilitated the spread of languages and customs, the name Raela also appeared in parts of the Middle East and North Africa. In ancient Phoenician inscriptions, the name "Ra'ila" is mentioned, potentially derived from the Semitic root "ra'a," meaning "to see" or "to behold." This suggests that the name may have been associated with individuals possessing exceptional vision or insight.
Turning to the annals of European history, the name Raela surfaced during the Renaissance period, particularly in Italy. One notable figure was Raela Fiorentina, a 15th-century artist and sculptor renowned for her intricate marble carvings adorning various cathedrals and palaces across Florence and Rome.
In the 17th century, Raela Dantesca, an Italian scholar and poet, gained recognition for her poetic interpretations of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. Her works were celebrated for their depth and lyrical beauty, earning her a place among the literary luminaries of her time.
Moving forward to the 19th century, the name Raela found its way to the Americas, where it was embraced by various communities. One notable figure was Raela Quintana, a Mexican activist and educator who championed the rights of indigenous populations and advocated for improved access to education.
In the realm of literature, Raela Nightingale was an American novelist and playwright whose works explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition. Her critically acclaimed novel, "Moonlight Sonata," published in 1892, remains a beloved classic to this day.
These are but a few examples of the diverse individuals who have carried the name Raela throughout history, each leaving an indelible mark on their respective fields and cultures. While the name's origins may be shrouded in mystery, its enduring presence across centuries and civilizations speaks to its timeless allure and the rich tapestry of stories it embodies.
People
Raela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raela 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
Raela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 294 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raela 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 1,165,831 US residents.
Is Raela a common name?
We classify Raela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 297 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raela most popular?
The single biggest year for Raela was 2020, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raela is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 237 people with the name Raela, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,427 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 Raela 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 Raela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raela leans strongly female. 234 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Raela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raela is White at 59.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.6%) and Two or More Races (10.1%). 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 Raela most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Raela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.1% (140 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 Raela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raela 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.
Is Raela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raela 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 Raela 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 share the name Raela?
Want to know how many Americans are named Raela? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.