Raelene
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly a combination of "Rae" and "lene".
Name Census estimates that about 2,019 living Americans carry the first name Raelene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Raelene today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raelene births was 1959 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raelene. 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
2.0K
~ 1 in 169,764 Americans
Peak year
1959
55 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,064
Tracked since 1929
Popularity
Raelene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raelene from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 429 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raelene 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 Raelene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Raelenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Pennsylvania, Illinois recorded the most babies named Raelene, while Washington, Ohio, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 100 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Raelene
The name Raelene is a relatively modern English feminine given name that emerged in the late 19th or early 20th century. It is thought to be a combination of the names Rachel and Elaine, with the latter derived from the Greek name Helena, meaning "bright" or "shining light". The name Rachel has Hebrew origins and means "ewe" in reference to a sheep.
While the name Raelene does not have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been used as a given name for women over the past century or so. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name was Raelene Massey, an American actress born in 1904 who appeared in several films in the 1930s and 1940s.
Another notable figure with the name Raelene was Raelene Frances, an Australian singer and actress born in 1937. She was a regular performer on Australian television in the 1960s and 1970s and was known for her appearances on shows like The Mavis Bramston Show and The Ernie SigleyShow.
In the field of sports, Raelene Boyle was an Australian sprinter who competed in the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games. She won three silver medals in the 200m and 4x100m relay events, and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.
Raelene Pearce was an Australian politician who served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1991 to 2003. She was a member of the Australian Labor Party and held several shadow ministerial portfolios during her time in parliament.
Another notable figure with the name Raelene was Raelene Dyer, a New Zealand artist and sculptor born in 1946. She is known for her large-scale public sculptures and installations, many of which explore themes of nature and the environment.
People
Raelene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raelene 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
Raelene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raelene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,019 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raelene 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 169,764 US residents.
Is Raelene a common name?
We classify Raelene as "Rare". It ranks above 93.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,445 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raelene most popular?
The single biggest year for Raelene was 1959, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raelene is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Raelene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raelene 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.