Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 2022

Rainey

Meaning descendant of Raighne Gender Unisex · 83% girls Rank 2025 #2,376 Trend ↑ Rising 29%

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Raighne (“descendant of Raighne”), a Gaelicized form of the Old Norse personal name Rognvaldr.

Rank 2025
#2,376
among girls · ↓17 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
76
named Rainey · -10% vs 2024
How common
1 in 21,148
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2022
90 babies
All-time total
2,632
#4,448 all-time among girls
First recorded
1901
in Social Security records

Rainey popularity over time

2,632 babies have been named Rainey since 1901, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.020.040.060.0818801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – 10 10 1 – –
1910s 5 52 57 6 +470% #4,083
1920s 5 71 76 8 +33% #5,618
1930s – 58 58 6 -24% –
1940s – 37 37 4 -36% –
1950s 26 53 79 8 +114% #3,879
1960s 51 47 98 10 +24% #4,748
1970s 134 17 151 15 +54% #3,657
1980s 169 16 185 19 +23% #3,458
1990s 346 51 397 40 +115% #2,705
2000s 473 21 494 49 +24% #2,698
2010s 498 11 509 51 +3% #2,771
2020s (to 2025) 475 6 481 80 +57% #2,137

Where Rainey is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 80 0.05 outside top 500
2027 84 0.05 outside top 500
2028 87 0.05 outside top 500
2029 90 0.06 outside top 500
2030 92 0.06 outside top 500

Where Rainey is most popular

Girls named Rainey per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.049 per 1,000. Strongest in Arkansas, Missouri, and Arizona.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Rainey born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Arkansas 5 0.095 +91%
Missouri 11 0.091 +85%
Arizona 10 0.071 +44%
Texas 52 0.065 +31%
Colorado 7 0.063 +27%
Tennessee 8 0.050 ≈ national
Georgia 10 0.044 -11%
Washington 6 0.042 -16%
Florida 12 0.028 -43%
North Carolina 6 0.026 -47%
Pennsylvania 5 0.021 -57%
California 12 0.014 -71%
New York 5 0.013 -74%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Rainey

Rainey is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,376 in 2025 with 76 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1901, 2,632 American babies have been named Rainey, about 83% girls and 17% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2022, when 90 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Rainey stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Rainey?

The median living Rainey is about 20 years old; half are between 7 and 33. An estimated 2,400 people named Rainey are alive in the United States today.

median 20 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Rainey year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 76 #2,376 – –
2024 78 #2,359 6 #12,019
2023 75 #2,411 – –
2022 90 #2,137 – –
2021 82 #2,262 – –
2020 74 #2,393 – –
2019 58 #2,883 6 #11,812
2018 50 #3,236 – –
2017 62 #2,771 – –
2016 60 #2,855 – –
2015 44 #3,583 – –
2014 45 #3,530 5 #13,582
2013 48 #3,359 – –
2012 41 #3,840 – –
2011 40 #3,824 – –
2010 50 #3,294 – –
2009 50 #3,343 – –
2008 63 #2,850 – –
2007 48 #3,461 – –
2006 35 #4,240 – –
2005 48 #3,250 – –
2004 39 #3,734 6 #11,016
2003 47 #3,174 7 #9,383
2002 51 #2,930 – –
2001 37 #3,619 8 #8,135
2000 55 #2,698 – –
1995 39 #3,007 6 #8,623
1990 30 #3,603 – –
1985 7 #9,019 – –
1980 21 #3,808 – –
1975 15 #4,301 – –
1970 14 #4,192 6 #4,604
1965 9 #4,748 – –
1960 5 #7,086 6 #3,963
1955 – – – –
1950 – – 13 #2,181
1945 – – – –
1940 – – 9 #2,633
1935 – – 6 #3,569
1930 – – 6 #3,911
1925 – – 6 #4,097
1920 5 #5,618 12 #2,575
1915 – – 7 #3,328
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Rainey, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Rainey?

The median living Rainey is about 20 years old. Half of all living Raineys are between 7 and 33 years old.

How many people named Rainey are alive today?

An estimated 2,400 people named Rainey are alive in the United States, based on 2,632 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Rainey mean?

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Raighne (“descendant of Raighne”), a Gaelicized form of the Old Norse personal name Rognvaldr.

How popular is the name Rainey in 2025?

Rainey ranked #2,376 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 76 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Rainey?

2,632 babies have been named Rainey in the United States since 1901, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Rainey most popular?

Rainey peaked in 2022, when 90 newborns received the name.

Is Rainey a boy or girl name?

Rainey is used for both: about 83% of babies named Rainey have been girls and 17% boys.

Is the name Rainey rising or falling?

Rainey is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Rainey become more popular?

Rainey is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 92 girls named Rainey in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Rainey

Names that sound and feel close to Rainey: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Rainey with similar names → More names starting with R →