girls' name ★ peaked 2023

Raya

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #369 Trend ↑ Rising 261%

Raya is a given name with multiple, unrelated origins in different cultures.

Rank 2025
#369
among girls · ↓4 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
836
named Raya · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,934
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2023
867 babies
All-time total
8,008
#1,911 all-time among girls
First recorded
1958
in Social Security records

Raya popularity over time

8,008 babies have been named Raya since 1958, 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
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s 5 – 5 1 – #6,802
1960s 16 – 16 2 +220% #6,590
1970s 64 – 64 6 +300% #4,726
1980s 138 – 138 14 +116% #3,557
1990s 385 – 385 39 +179% #2,563
2000s 1,052 – 1,052 105 +173% #1,475
2010s 2,087 – 2,087 209 +98% #1,038
2020s (to 2025) 4,256 5 4,261 710 +240% #353

Where Raya 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 1,018 0.63 #300
2027 1,210 0.75 #255
2028 1,401 0.87 #219
2029 1,587 0.99 #198
2030 1,765 1.10 #174

Where Raya is most popular

Girls named Raya per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.490 per 1,000. Strongest in Hawaii, District of Columbia, and Idaho.

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 Raya 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
Hawaii 21 1.83 +274%
District of Columbia 12 1.01 +106%
Idaho 29 0.867 +77%
Wisconsin 89 0.864 +76%
Washington 118 0.817 +67%
Minnesota 88 0.815 +66%
Massachusetts 97 0.802 +64%
Maryland 83 0.783 +60%
Oregon 51 0.783 +60%
Oklahoma 57 0.774 +58%
Kansas 44 0.763 +56%
Nevada 35 0.753 +54%
Iowa 44 0.753 +54%
New Mexico 18 0.740 +51%
West Virginia 19 0.725 +48%
South Dakota 10 0.700 +43%
Ohio 165 0.695 +42%
Georgia 148 0.651 +33%
New Hampshire 12 0.650 +33%
Michigan 116 0.637 +30%
Connecticut 37 0.636 +30%
Virginia 108 0.634 +29%
Alabama 59 0.628 +28%
New Jersey 113 0.626 +28%
Pennsylvania 146 0.617 +26%
Delaware 7 0.617 +26%
California 511 0.608 +24%
Missouri 73 0.606 +23%
Louisiana 53 0.606 +23%
Illinois 135 0.590 +20%
Alaska 5 0.581 +18%
South Carolina 51 0.567 +16%
New York 220 0.556 +13%
Colorado 61 0.546 +11%
Utah 43 0.517 +5%
Arizona 70 0.499 ≈ national
North Carolina 111 0.488 ≈ national
Florida 208 0.486 ≈ national
Mississippi 22 0.470 ≈ national
Indiana 66 0.470 ≈ national
Kentucky 36 0.421 -14%
Texas 338 0.420 -14%
Arkansas 22 0.416 -15%
Tennessee 64 0.404 -18%
Maine 6 0.388 -21%
North Dakota 5 0.380 -22%
Nebraska 9 0.250 -49%
Montana – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Raya

Raya is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #369 in 2025 with 831 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1958, 8,008 American babies have been named Raya. Its peak came in 2023, when 867 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 Raya stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Raya?

The median living Raya is about 5 years old; half are between 2 and 14. An estimated 8,000 people named Raya are alive in the United States today.

median 5 020406080100

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

Raya 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 831 #369 5 #13,444
2024 861 #365 – –
2023 867 #353 – –
2022 784 #400 – –
2021 636 #495 – –
2020 277 #933 – –
2019 239 #1,062 – –
2018 216 #1,134 – –
2017 249 #1,038 – –
2016 237 #1,092 – –
2015 206 #1,211 – –
2014 197 #1,237 – –
2013 199 #1,205 – –
2012 185 #1,290 – –
2011 191 #1,255 – –
2010 168 #1,383 – –
2009 158 #1,475 – –
2008 154 #1,519 – –
2007 126 #1,733 – –
2006 125 #1,688 – –
2005 108 #1,814 – –
2004 98 #1,921 – –
2003 105 #1,800 – –
2002 61 #2,573 – –
2001 58 #2,627 – –
2000 59 #2,565 – –
1995 32 #3,477 – –
1990 34 #3,275 – –
1985 12 #5,948 – –
1980 13 #5,461 – –
1975 9 #6,318 – –
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Raya?

The median living Raya is about 5 years old. Half of all living Rayas are between 2 and 14 years old.

How many people named Raya are alive today?

An estimated 8,000 people named Raya are alive in the United States, based on 8,008 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Raya mean?

Raya is a given name with multiple, unrelated origins in different cultures.

How popular is the name Raya in 2025?

Raya ranked #369 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 831 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Raya?

8,008 babies have been named Raya in the United States since 1958, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Raya most popular?

Raya peaked in 2023, when 867 newborns received the name.

Is Raya a boy or girl name?

Raya is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Raya rising or falling?

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

Will Raya become more popular?

Raya is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,765 girls named Raya in 2030, which would rank around #174. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Raya

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

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