boys' name ★ peaked 1995

Raul

Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #634 Trend ↓ Falling 11%

A male given name from Spanish, an Anglicized form of Spanish Raúl.

Rank 2025
#634
among boys · ↓22 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
440
named Raul · -6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,882
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1995
1,521 babies
All-time total
88,524
#341 all-time among boys
First recorded
1904
in Social Security records

Raul popularity over time

88,524 babies have been named Raul since 1904, 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
0.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 – 35 35 4 – #909
1910s – 640 640 64 +1729% #575
1920s 7 2,847 2,854 285 +346% #271
1930s 37 3,238 3,275 328 +15% #281
1940s 20 4,506 4,526 453 +38% #254
1950s 60 7,750 7,810 781 +73% #248
1960s 65 8,507 8,572 857 +10% #240
1970s 84 10,548 10,632 1,063 +24% #199
1980s 116 12,126 12,242 1,224 +15% #190
1990s 71 14,609 14,680 1,468 +20% #199
2000s 24 13,416 13,440 1,344 -8% #223
2010s – 6,936 6,936 694 -48% #340
2020s (to 2025) – 2,882 2,882 480 -31% #554

Where Raul is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 432 0.25 outside top 500
2027 426 0.25 outside top 500
2028 420 0.25 outside top 500
2029 416 0.24 outside top 500
2030 412 0.24 outside top 500

Where Raul is most popular

Boys named Raul per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.275 per 1,000. Strongest in Texas, New Mexico, 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 boys named Raul 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 Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Texas 713 0.809 +194%
New Mexico 23 0.698 +154%
Arizona 104 0.636 +131%
Nevada 36 0.631 +129%
California 574 0.628 +128%
Colorado 60 0.465 +69%
Oregon 29 0.382 +39%
Washington 44 0.269 ≈ national
Illinois 66 0.258 -6%
Arkansas 16 0.253 -8%
Oklahoma 20 0.226 -18%
Florida 106 0.224 -19%
Georgia 54 0.213 -23%
North Carolina 45 0.176 -36%
Minnesota 17 0.139 -50%
Utah 13 0.136 -51%
New York 55 0.127 -54%
Maryland 15 0.126 -54%
Massachusetts 17 0.124 -55%
Michigan 25 0.122 -56%
Virginia 23 0.121 -56%
South Carolina 11 0.106 -61%
Alabama 10 0.091 -67%
Pennsylvania 23 0.087 -69%
New Jersey 17 0.084 -69%
Tennessee 14 0.078 -72%
Indiana 11 0.069 -75%
Wisconsin 7 0.059 -79%
Louisiana 5 0.049 -82%
Ohio 10 0.038 -86%
Alaska – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Maine – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Raul

Raul is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #634 in 2025 with 440 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1904, 88,524 American babies have been named Raul. Its peak came in 1995, when 1,521 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

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 Raul stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Raul?

The median living Raul is about 36 years old; half are between 22 and 53. An estimated 75 thousand people named Raul are alive in the United States today.

median 36 020406080100

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

Raul 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 – – 440 #634
2024 – – 466 #612
2023 – – 477 #595
2022 – – 539 #554
2021 – – 455 #612
2020 – – 505 #557
2019 – – 552 #519
2018 – – 551 #514
2017 – – 556 #520
2016 – – 652 #468
2015 – – 693 #443
2014 – – 727 #422
2013 – – 722 #409
2012 – – 722 #404
2011 – – 835 #360
2010 – – 926 #340
2009 – – 1,015 #315
2008 5 #19,798 1,180 #288
2007 – – 1,387 #255
2006 – – 1,355 #255
2005 8 #12,752 1,332 #248
2004 5 #18,175 1,381 #242
2003 6 #15,320 1,401 #238
2002 – – 1,407 #240
2001 – – 1,439 #235
2000 – – 1,519 #223
1995 9 #9,364 1,512 #201
1990 14 #6,379 1,461 #209
1985 11 #6,343 1,108 #218
1980 12 #5,813 1,288 #190
1975 11 #5,414 1,038 #208
1970 12 #4,696 1,038 #227
1965 10 #4,436 793 #263
1960 5 #7,090 905 #264
1955 12 #3,530 798 #249
1950 5 #5,926 646 #255
1945 – – 487 #268
1940 – – 304 #325
1935 – – 324 #303
1930 5 #5,110 408 #281
1925 – – 282 #349
1920 – – 179 #455
1915 – – 88 #615
1910 – – 16 #776
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Raul

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Raul Julia Raul Julia Puerto Rican actor (1940–1994) Contemporary
  2. 2 Raul Meireles Raul Meireles Portuguese footballer (born 1983) Contemporary
  3. 3 Raul Hilberg Raul Hilberg Austrian-born American Holocaust researcher (1926–2007) Contemporary
  4. 4 Raul Boesel Raul Boesel Brazilian racing driver (born 1957) Contemporary
  5. 5 Raul Khajimba Raul Khajimba President of Abkhazia from 2014 to 2020 b. 1958 · Contemporary
  6. 6 Raul Rusescu Raul Rusescu Romanian footballer (born 1988) Contemporary
  7. 7 Raul Maldonado Argentine footballer b. 1975 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Raul?

The median living Raul is about 36 years old. Half of all living Rauls are between 22 and 53 years old.

How many people named Raul are alive today?

An estimated 75 thousand people named Raul are alive in the United States, based on 88,524 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Raul mean?

A male given name from Spanish, an Anglicized form of Spanish Raúl.

How popular is the name Raul in 2025?

Raul ranked #634 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 440 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Raul?

88,524 babies have been named Raul in the United States since 1904, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Raul most popular?

Raul peaked in 1995, when 1,521 newborns received the name.

Is Raul a boy or girl name?

Raul is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Raul rising or falling?

Raul is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Raul become more popular?

Raul is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 412 boys named Raul in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Raul?

Well-known people named Raul include Raul Julia (actor), Raul Meireles (soccer player), Raul Hilberg (writer).

Names like Raul

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

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