Raya
Raya was the 369th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 831 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 353rd with 867 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 842 places. More babies were named Raya in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin not documented
Say it RY-uh /ˈraɪə/
- Rank in 2025
- #369 girls, up 564 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 831girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2023867 babies
- Total since 1880
- 8,008babies recorded
What does the name Raya mean?
Raya has several separate sources and no single documented origin for the American name. It is a Russian and Bulgarian pet form of names such as Raisa; it resembles Arabic rāya, "banner"; and the word raya also existed in English for Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire (from Arabic ra'iyya, "flock"). The Disney film Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) coincides with its recent rise in the US.
How sure is this? Not documented. Several unrelated sources; no documented origin for the US name.
Related names: Raia, Raisa, Rayah.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'raya', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (usage history only), US Social Security Administration
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Raya popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 5 since 2025, 5 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #369 | 831 |
| 2020 | #933 | 277 |
| 2010 | #1,383 | 168 |
| 2000 | #2,565 | 59 |
| 1990 | #3,275 | 34 |
| 1980 | #5,461 | 13 |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Raya, counting every spelling?
Raya is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #327 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #369 for Raya on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,012 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raya | 831 | #369 | 3,979 |
| Rayah | 118 | #1,730 | 457 |
| Raaya | 45 | #3,442 | 130 |
| Reia | 18 | #6,499 | 106 |
| Rayya | — | — | 29 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Raya?
831 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Raya (0.23 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Raya born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 10 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Raya.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Raya?
About 7,900 people born in the US named Raya are alive today, with a median age of 6; half are between 3 and 15. That makes Raya a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Raya by state
How common Raya was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Hawaii (3.7×), Idaho (1.8×), Wisconsin (1.8×), Washington (1.7×), Minnesota (1.7×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Nebraska, North Dakota, Maine.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Raya: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Raya, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Raya · Sibling names for Raya
Questions about the name Raya
How popular is the name Raya?
Raya was the 369th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 831 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 353rd with 867 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 842 places. More babies were named Raya in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Raya a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Raya in the US.
Where is Raya most popular?
In 2021–2025, Raya was most common in Hawaii (1.83 per 1,000 girls), followed by District of Columbia and Idaho.