Rayland
A masculine name derived from the word "ray", meaning a beam of light.
Name Census estimates that about 634 living Americans carry the first name Rayland. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rayland today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rayland births was 2018 (50 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rayland. 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
634
~ 1 in 540,622 Americans
Peak year
2018
50 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,657
Tracked since 1956
Census
Rayland in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 592 people with the first name Rayland, which placed it at #18,254 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
#18,254
National first-name rank
People counted
592
592 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rayland
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rayland is White at 62.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.5%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Rayland 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 Rayland at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.2% · 368
- Black or African American21.5% · 127
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 41
- Two or more races5.2% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 11
Popularity
Rayland: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rayland from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 395 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Rayland remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rayland 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 Rayland during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Raylands live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Florida recorded the most babies named Rayland, while Ohio, Michigan, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rayland
The given name Rayland is a relatively modern invention, believed to have originated in the English-speaking world during the 20th century. It is a combination of the name Ray, a diminutive form of the name Raymond, and the suffix "-land," which may have been added for flair or to give the name a more unique and distinctive sound.
The name Raymond itself is derived from the Germanic elements "ragin," meaning "counsel" or "advice," and "mund," meaning "protector." It was introduced to England by the Normans after the Norman Conquest in 1066 and gained popularity throughout medieval Europe.
While there are no known historical references or ancient texts that mention the name Rayland specifically, some notable individuals who have borne this name include Rayland Baxter, an American singer-songwriter born in 1983, and Rayland Woodard, an American football player who played for the Minnesota Vikings in the 1990s.
Another individual with the name Rayland is Rayland Brooks, an American actor and comedian born in 1977, known for his roles in television shows and films such as "Insecure" and "The Chi." Additionally, Rayland Batson, an American football coach and former player, was born in 1972 and has worked as a coach for various college and professional teams.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Rayland is Rayland Taylor, an American baseball player who played in the Negro leagues during the 1940s and 1950s. Born in 1923, Taylor was known for his skills as an outfielder and his contributions to the integration of professional baseball.
While the name Rayland may not have a long and storied history like some more traditional names, its unique sound and modern origins have attracted a growing number of parents in recent years, contributing to its increasing popularity as a first name.
People
Rayland + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rayland 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
Rayland: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rayland?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 634 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rayland 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 540,622 US residents.
Is Rayland a common name?
We classify Rayland as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 646 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rayland most popular?
The single biggest year for Rayland was 2018, when 50 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rayland is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rayland in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 592 people with the name Rayland, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,254 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 Rayland 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 Rayland?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rayland leans strongly male. 546 people counted with this name were male (92.1%), compared with 47 female bearers (7.9%). 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 Rayland?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rayland is White at 62.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.5%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Rayland most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rayland in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.2% (368 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 Rayland in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rayland a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rayland 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 Rayland still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rayland 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 Rayland 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 named Rayland?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Rayland at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.