Raley
A feminine name of English origin, a variant spelling of "Rayleigh".
Name Census estimates that about 373 living Americans carry the first name Raley. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Raley today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raley births was 2007 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raley. 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
373
~ 1 in 918,912 Americans
Peak year
2007
25 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,871
Tracked since 1988
Census
Raley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 503 people with the first name Raley, which placed it at #20,514 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
#20,514
National first-name rank
People counted
503
503 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raley is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Raley 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 Raley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.5% · 430
- Black or African American4.6% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 21
- Two or more races2.6% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 8
Popularity
Raley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raley from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 174 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raley 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 Raley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Raleys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Raley
The name Raley has its origins in the Old English language and can be traced back to the 10th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "ræg," which meant "roe deer." This suggests that the name may have initially been used as a nickname or surname for someone who was associated with hunting or had some connection to deer.
In ancient Anglo-Saxon texts, variations of the name, such as "Raelegh" and "Raleigh," can be found. These early spellings indicate that the name was in use among the Anglo-Saxons, who inhabited parts of present-day England and southern Scotland during the early medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Raley can be found in the Domesday Book, a survey of land and property commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Ralegh," referring to a place name in Somerset, England.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Raley. One of the most famous was Sir Walter Raleigh (1554-1618), an English explorer, courtier, and writer who played a pivotal role in the colonization of North America. He is best known for establishing the Roanoke Colony in present-day North Carolina and for introducing tobacco and potatoes to England.
Another prominent figure with the name Raley was Cavendish Weedon Raley (1821-1897), a British architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal College of Surgeons and the Church of St. Michael in Cornhill.
In the literary world, Raley Husted Bell (1859-1924) was an American writer and journalist known for her novels and short stories depicting life in the American West.
Raley Grose (1909-1979) was an American baseball player who played for the Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Browns in the 1930s and 1940s.
More recently, Raley Smilin' Riley (1919-2008) was an American country music singer and guitarist who performed with various bands and on radio stations throughout the mid-20th century.
While the name Raley has its roots in Old English and has been present throughout various periods of history, it has remained relatively uncommon compared to other names. However, its unique sound and connection to the natural world have contributed to its enduring appeal and usage over the centuries.
People
Raley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raley 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
Raley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 373 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raley 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 918,912 US residents.
Is Raley a common name?
We classify Raley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 378 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raley most popular?
The single biggest year for Raley was 2007, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raley is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 503 people with the name Raley, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,514 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 Raley 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 Raley?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Raley on both sides of the split. Of the 505 people counted with this name, 104 were male (20.6%) and 401 were female (79.4%). 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 Raley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raley is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Raley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Raley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.5% (430 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 Raley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raley a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raley 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 Raley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raley 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 Raley 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 Raley?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Raley, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.