Raylan
Raylan was the 802nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 311 babies. Its best year was 2015, when it ranked 473rd with 630 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 329 places. More babies were named Raylan in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin not documented
Say it RAY-lun /ˈreɪlən/
- Rank in 2025
- #802 boys, down 188 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 311boys
- Girls and boys
- 8% girls, 92% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2015630 babies
- Total since 1880
- 7,442babies recorded
What does the name Raylan mean?
Raylan is a modern American coinage, which Wiktionary describes as formed from Ray, comparable to Rylan and Braylon. Ray itself is a short form of Raymond, which DMNES explains as Germanic ragin, counsel, plus mund, protection. US records show Raylan for boys from 1975 and for girls from 2001, most common in the mid-2010s. Because Raylan is a modern formation, we do not give it a meaning beyond its parts.
How sure is this? Not documented. Modern coinage.
Related names: Rylan, Ray, Braylon.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Raylan' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Raymond', DMNES (Durham University)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Nicknames for Raylan
The usual nicknames for Raylan are Ray. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Raylan in the last five years, 84 were named Ray, against 6280 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ray · also for Raymond | Modern | #792 | 1,595 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Raylans go by each one.
Raylan popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #6,067 | #802 | 20 | 311 |
| 2020 | #4,062 | #614 | 35 | 446 |
| 2010 | #8,613 | #1,305 | 14 | 132 |
| 2000 | — | — | — | — |
| 1990 | — | — | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Raylan, counting every spelling?
Raylan is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #612 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #802 for Raylan on its own. Together these spellings went to 448 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raylan | 311 | #802 | 1,890 |
| Raylen | 97 | #1,696 | 446 |
| Raylon | 40 | #3,076 | 244 |
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 Raylan?
311 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Raylan (0.09 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Raylan 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 27 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Raylan.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Raylan?
About 6,800 people born in the US named Raylan are alive today, with a median age of 9; half are between 5 and 12. That makes Raylan 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.
Raylan by state
How common Raylan was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Kentucky (5.5×), Arkansas (3.9×), Mississippi (3.9×), Tennessee (3.8×), West Virginia (3.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Massachusetts, Colorado, New York.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Raylan: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Raylan, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Raylan · Sibling names for Raylan
Questions about the name Raylan
How popular is the name Raylan?
Raylan was the 802nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 311 babies. Its best year was 2015, when it ranked 473rd with 630 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 329 places. More babies were named Raylan in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Raylan a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 8% girls, 92% boys given the name Raylan in the US.
Where is Raylan most popular?
In 2021–2025, Raylan was most common in Kentucky (1.20 per 1,000 boys), followed by Arkansas and Mississippi.