Rayshard
A name of English origin meaning "brave protector" or "courageous guard."
Name Census estimates that about 129 living Americans carry the first name Rayshard. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rayshard today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rayshard births was 1989 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rayshard. 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
129
~ 1 in 2,657,010 Americans
Peak year
1989
10 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2008 SSA rank
#12,231
Tracked since 1986
Popularity
Rayshard: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rayshard from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 62 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Rayshard remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rayshard 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 Rayshard 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 Rayshard
The name Rayshard is a relatively modern invention, likely originating in the United States in the 20th century. It appears to be a combination of the traditional English names Ray and Shard, with the latter being an archaic word meaning a fragment or splinter.
While the roots of the name can be traced back to Old English and Germanic languages, there are no known historical references or recorded instances of the name Rayshard being used prior to the late 20th century. Its unique spelling and blend of more common names suggest it was created as a distinctive and contemporary appellation.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Rayshard was Rayshard Brooks, an African American man who was tragically killed by police in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2020. His death sparked nationwide protests and heightened awareness of racial injustice and police brutality.
Another notable individual named Rayshard is Rayshard Darnell Terrell, an American basketball player who played for several teams in the NBA between 2004 and 2011. He was born in 1982 in Mobile, Alabama.
Rayshard Levingston is an American football player who played as a cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks in the National Football League (NFL) in 2007. He was born in 1984 in Valdosta, Georgia.
Rayshard Hairston is an American professional basketball player who has played in various leagues around the world, including the NBA G League and in countries like Japan and New Zealand. He was born in 1987 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Rayshard Thornton is an American basketball player who played college basketball for the University of Tennessee and was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the NBA in 2013. He was born in 1991 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
People
Rayshard + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rayshard 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
Rayshard: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rayshard?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 129 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rayshard 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 2,657,010 US residents.
Is Rayshard a common name?
We classify Rayshard as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 132 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rayshard most popular?
The single biggest year for Rayshard was 1989, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rayshard is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rayshard a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rayshard 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.
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.