Rayven
A variant spelling of Raven meaning dark or blackbird.
Name Census estimates that about 3,071 living Americans carry the first name Rayven. It is a predominantly female name (94.6% of registrations). The average person named Rayven today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rayven births was 1998 (139 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rayven. 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
3.1K
~ 1 in 111,610 Americans
Peak year
1998
139 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,999
Tracked since 1979
Gender
Gender distribution for Rayven
Rayven leans heavily female at 94.6% of total registrations, but 170 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Rayven as a male name
- Ranked #11,984 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2002 (17 births)
Rayven as a female name
- Ranked #2,999 in 2024
- 55 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2004 (130 births)
Popularity
Rayven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rayven from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,097 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
Rayven 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 Rayven during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rayvens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. Texas, California, Michigan recorded the most babies named Rayven, while Oklahoma, District of Columbia, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 54 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rayven
The name Rayven is a modern English variant of the name Raven, which has its origins in the Old English word "ræfn," meaning "raven." The raven is a large black bird that has long been associated with mystery, intelligence, and even magic in various cultures.
The raven has played a significant role in folklore and mythology across different civilizations. In ancient Norse mythology, the raven was considered a sacred bird and was associated with the god Odin. Two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, were believed to be Odin's messengers, flying around the world and bringing him information.
In some Native American cultures, the raven was revered as a trickster figure, a shape-shifter, and a symbol of transformation. The Tlingit and Haida tribes of the Pacific Northwest coast have many stories and legends featuring the raven as a central character.
The earliest recorded use of the name Raven as a personal name dates back to the 16th century in England. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Raven Vaughan, a Welsh poet and scholar who lived in the late 16th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Raven or its variants. One of the most famous is the American writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), whose poem "The Raven" is widely regarded as a literary masterpiece.
Another notable individual was Raven Wilkinson (1935-2018), an African American ballet dancer who broke racial barriers in the 1950s and 1960s. She was one of the first African American members of a major ballet company in the United States.
In the world of music, Raven-Symoné (born 1985) is an American actress, singer, and television personality who rose to fame as a child star on the sitcom "The Cosby Show" and later starred in the Disney Channel series "That's So Raven."
The name Rayven, with its unique spelling, emerged as a variant in the late 20th century. One notable individual with this name is Rayven Choi (born 1985), an American model and television personality who appeared in the reality show "America's Next Top Model."
Another individual with the name Rayven is Rayven Symone Ferrell (born 1985), an American professional wrestler better known by her ring name Rayven Terrell. She has competed in various independent promotions and was a former NWA World Women's Champion.
While the name Rayven is a modern variant, it carries the rich cultural and mythological symbolism associated with the raven, a bird that has captivated human imagination for centuries.
People
Rayven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rayven 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
Rayven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rayven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,071 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rayven 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 111,610 US residents.
Is Rayven a common name?
We classify Rayven as "Rare". It ranks above 95.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,126 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rayven most popular?
The single biggest year for Rayven was 1998, when 139 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rayven is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rayven a female name?
Yes, 94.6% of people registered as Rayven 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.
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.