Rain
A gender-neutral name of English origin signifying precipitation from the sky.
Name Census estimates that about 4,462 living Americans carry the first name Rain. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Rain today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rain births was 2023 (262 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rain. 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 Rain with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Rain is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
4.5K
~ 1 in 76,816 Americans
Peak year
2023
262 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,394
Tracked since 1956
Census
Rain in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,671 people with the first name Rain, which placed it at #4,880 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
#4,880
National first-name rank
People counted
3.7K
3,671 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rain
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rain is White at 45.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.7%) and Black (14.6%). 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 Rain 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 Rain at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.1% · 1,656
- Hispanic or Latino15.7% · 576
- Black or African American14.6% · 536
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.0% · 405
- Two or more races9.8% · 358
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.8% · 140
Gender
Gender distribution for Rain
Rain is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 4,527 total registrations, 1,095 (24.2%) were male and 3,432 (75.8%) were female.
Rain as a male name
- Ranked #1,667 in 2024
- 101 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (101 births)
Rain as a female name
- Ranked #1,394 in 2024
- 161 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (195 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Rain on both sides of the split. Of the 3,671 people counted with this name, 850 were male (23.2%) and 2,821 were female (76.8%).
Popularity
Rain: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rain from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,486 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
Rain 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 Rain during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rains live
The SSA's state-level files cover 27 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Rain, while Nevada, New Mexico, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 72 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rain
The name Rain is of English origin and is believed to have emerged as a given name during the late 20th century. It is derived from the word "rain," which refers to the condensed moisture that falls from the atmosphere in the form of drops.
While the name Rain does not have a long historical lineage, it is thought to have been inspired by the natural phenomenon of rain and its symbolism in various cultures. In many traditions, rain is seen as a symbol of fertility, renewal, and cleansing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rain can be found in the work of American author Richard Brautigan, who wrote a novel titled "Trout Fishing in America" in 1967. In the novel, one of the characters is named Rain.
Among the notable individuals who have borne the name Rain throughout history, one can mention:
1. Rain Pryor (born 1969), an American actress and comedian, daughter of renowned comedian Richard Pryor.
2. Rain Phoenix (born 1972), an American actress, musician, and singer, sister of the late actor River Phoenix.
3. Rain Brown (born 2002), an American reality television personality known for her appearance on the show "Alaskan Bush People."
4. Rain Wilson (born 1976), an American actress known for her roles in films such as "The Cooler" and "Reign Over Me."
5. Rain Dove (born 1989), an American model, actor, and activist known for their work in promoting gender inclusivity and challenging traditional gender norms.
While the name Rain may be relatively modern in its usage as a given name, it has gained popularity in recent decades, perhaps reflecting a growing appreciation for nature-inspired names and the symbolism associated with the natural phenomenon of rain.
People
Rain + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rain 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
Rain: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rain?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,462 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rain 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 76,816 US residents.
Is Rain a common name?
We classify Rain as "Rare". It ranks above 96.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,527 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rain most popular?
The single biggest year for Rain was 2023, when 262 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rain is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rain in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,671 people with the name Rain, or 1.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,880 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 Rain 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 Rain?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Rain on both sides of the split. Of the 3,671 people counted with this name, 850 were male (23.2%) and 2,821 were female (76.8%). 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 Rain?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rain is White at 45.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.7%) and Black (14.6%). 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 Rain most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.1% (1,656 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 Rain in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rain a female name?
Yes, 75.8% of people registered as Rain 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 Rain still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rain 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 Rain 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 Rain as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.