Rafer
A masculine name of North Germanic origin meaning "voyager" or "adventurer".
Name Census estimates that about 30 living Americans carry the first name Rafer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rafer today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rafer births was 1961 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rafer. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rafer. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
30
~ 1 in 11,425,145 Americans
Peak year
1961
8 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1982 SSA rank
#7,114
Tracked since 1961
Popularity
Rafer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rafer from the 1960s through to the 1980s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 24 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
Rafer 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 Rafer 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 Rafer
The name Rafer is of Arabic origin, derived from the word "rafiq," which means "companion" or "friend." It is believed to have been introduced to the Western world during the Middle Ages, when Arabic culture and language had a significant influence on parts of Europe.
Rafer was a relatively uncommon name in historical records, but it did appear in some medieval texts and documents from regions with strong Arabic influences, such as Spain and parts of Italy. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was found in a 12th-century Arabic manuscript, where a scholar was referred to as "Rafer al-Andalusi," indicating he was from the Andalusia region of Spain.
In terms of historical figures, a notable bearer of the name Rafer was Rafer ibn Abdallah al-Qurtubi, a 12th-century Arabic philosopher and scholar from Cordoba, Spain. He was known for his contributions to the fields of astronomy, mathematics, and Islamic jurisprudence.
Another individual with the name Rafer was Rafer ibn al-Layth, an 8th-century Arab poet and scholar from Persia. His works were highly regarded during his time and contributed to the development of Arabic literature.
Moving forward in history, there was Rafer ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Misri, an 11th-century Arabic physician and philosopher from Egypt. He wrote extensively on medical topics and was influential in the field of Islamic medicine.
In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals named Rafer was Rafer Johnson, an American decathlete who won the gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. He was born in 1935 and passed away in 2020, leaving behind a legacy as one of the greatest athletes in U.S. Olympic history.
Another notable Rafer from more recent times was Rafer Alston, an American professional basketball player who played in the NBA from 1999 to 2010. He was born in 1976 and was known for his tenacious defense and leadership on the court.
While the name Rafer has Arabic roots and historical connections, it has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, with only a handful of notable individuals bearing this unique and distinctive name.
People
Rafer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rafer 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
Rafer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rafer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 30 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rafer 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 11,425,145 US residents.
Is Rafer a common name?
We classify Rafer as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 34 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rafer most popular?
The single biggest year for Rafer was 1961, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rafer is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Rafer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rafer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rafer 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 Rafer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rafer 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 Rafer 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Rafer?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.