Raye
A feminine name of Celtic origin referring to brightness or radiance.
Name Census estimates that about 1,440 living Americans carry the first name Raye. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Raye today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raye births was 1956 (74 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raye. 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 Raye with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 238,024 Americans
Peak year
1956
74 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1982 SSA rank
#6,225
Tracked since 1889
Census
Raye in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,648 people with the first name Raye, which placed it at #8,722 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
#8,722
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,648 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raye
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raye is White at 73.2%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) 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 Raye 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 Raye at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.2% · 1,207
- Black or African American14.9% · 246
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 69
- Two or more races3.9% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 19
Gender
Gender distribution for Raye
Raye leans heavily female at 88.2% of total registrations, but 306 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Raye as a male name
- Ranked #6,225 in 1982
- 6 male births in 1982
- Peak: 1948 (15 births)
Raye as a female name
- Ranked #7,851 in 2024
- 14 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1956 (67 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raye leans strongly female. 1,414 people counted with this name were female (86.1%), compared with 228 male bearers (13.9%).
Popularity
Raye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raye from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 524 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raye 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 Raye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rayes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Raye, while Virginia, Pennsylvania, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Raye
The name Raye has its origins in the Old English language and can be traced back to the 7th century AD. It is derived from the Old English word "ræg," which means "roe deer" or "small deer." This name was likely given to individuals who lived in or near forests and woodlands frequented by these animals.
In ancient Anglo-Saxon texts and records, the name Raye appears in various spellings, such as "Raege," "Raegh," and "Raeghe." These variations reflect the fluid nature of spelling and pronunciation during that time period. The name was particularly prevalent in the regions of modern-day England, where Old English was spoken.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Raye was Raye of Mercia, a nobleman who lived in the 8th century AD. He was a prominent figure in the Kingdom of Mercia, which was one of the major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms at the time.
Another notable figure with this name was Raye the Scribe, a monk who lived in the 10th century AD. He was renowned for his calligraphic skills and contributed to the preservation of numerous manuscripts and religious texts through his intricate and meticulous handwriting.
In the 12th century, Raye de Montfort was a French nobleman and crusader who participated in the Third Crusade. He was known for his bravery and leadership on the battlefield during the conflict.
During the Renaissance period, Raye Shelton was an English poet and playwright who lived in the 16th century. Her works, though not widely known today, were celebrated in literary circles of her time for their lyrical beauty and depth of emotion.
In the 17th century, Raye Bradbury was an English explorer and navigator who undertook several voyages to the West Indies and the Americas. His journals and maps contributed significantly to the expansion of geographical knowledge during that era.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Raye. While the name may have fallen into relative obscurity in modern times, its rich historical roots and associations with nature, nobility, and exploration make it a unique and evocative choice.
People
Raye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raye 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
Raye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,440 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raye 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 238,024 US residents.
Is Raye a common name?
We classify Raye as "Rare". It ranks above 92.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,585 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raye most popular?
The single biggest year for Raye was 1956, when 74 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raye is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raye in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,648 people with the name Raye, or 0.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,722 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 Raye 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 Raye?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raye leans strongly female. 1,414 people counted with this name were female (86.1%), compared with 228 male bearers (13.9%). 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 Raye?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raye is White at 73.2%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) 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 Raye most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Raye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.2% (1,207 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 Raye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raye a female name?
Yes, 88.2% of people registered as Raye 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 Raye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raye 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 Raye 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 are called Raye?
You can see how many people have the name Raye on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.