Girl's name
Raya
Say it RY-uh
2 syllables
Where Raya is loved, common and rare
Common across England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Rare in Scotland, Canada, four German cities and eight more places.
1 in 280 girls born in Northern Ireland in 2025
England and Wales 82ndNorthern Ireland 82ndIreland 99th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 19 of the 40 official lists, among them England and Wales (82nd), Northern Ireland (82nd) and Ireland (99th).
Show all 19 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 82nd 2025 | 547 | 1 in 463 |
| Northern Ireland | 82nd 2025 | 26 | 1 in 280 |
| Ireland | 99th 2025 | 48 | 1 in 440 |
| Scotland | 106th 2025 | 42 | 1 in 426 |
| Ontario province | 137th 2024 | 80 | about 1 in 681 |
| British Columbia province | 203rd 2023 | 15 | about 1 in 797 |
| Berlin city | 218th 2023 | 14 | about 1 in 1,036 |
| Cologne city | 308th 2023 | 3 | about 1 in 2,048 |
| Austria | 326th 2025 | 16 | 1 in 2,233 |
| Switzerland | 338th 2025 | 21 | 1 in 1,619 |
| Quebec province | 363rd 2025 | 14 | about 1 in 1,857 |
| The Netherlands | 477th 2025 | 26 | about 1 in 2,347 |
| Israel ראיה | 704th 2024 | 10 | about 1 in 7,847 |
| Poland | 706th 2025 | 2 | 1 in 59,894 |
| Sweden | 782nd 2025 | 6 | about 1 in 6,695 |
| Italy | 884th 2024 | 11 | 1 in 16,288 |
| France | 1480th 2025 | 20 | 1 in 14,340 |
| Leipzig city | 212th 2025 | 2 | about 1 in 1,312 |
| Bonn city | 382nd 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 3,015 |
Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, Munich, Rostock, Norway, Spain, Catalonia, Hungary and Slovenia.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Israel publishes names in Hebrew script. The Latin spelling shown is our transliteration; the published form is shown beside it.
Sources: Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel) (Israel); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn). How we count, and every source
About the name
Raya is a two-syllable girl's name, said RY-uh, with the stress on the first syllable and a bright, simple sound. Rayah and Raia are alternative spellings, and Aya is a close neighbour in sound.
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Its roots are not settled: the same spelling is used in several languages and cultures, and no single meaning is attested for it.
Raya is best known in Britain and Ireland, where it sits inside the top 100 in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland. It is also given in Canada and across Europe, from the Netherlands and Germany to Italy and Poland, and in Israel.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- RY-uh, 2 syllables
- Other spellings
- Aya
- Rayah
- Aja
- Raia
Etymology
A Malay female given name from the Malay word raya. Also used in Indonesian, from Malay.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 15 of 15 regions, falling in none.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 454 | 453 | 519 | 430 | 393 | 203 | 121 | 100 | 82 | 82 |
| Scotland | 585 | 570 | 680 | 447 | 341 | 205 | 200 | 109 | 117 | 106 |
| Northern Ireland | 440 | 313 | 263 | 192 | 298 | 147 | 95 | 70 | 82 | |
| Ireland | 661 | 716 | 700 | 299 | 222 | 296 | 213 | 99 | ||
| Ontario | 445 | 490 | 428 | 546 | 352 | 202 | 149 | 120 | 137 | |
| British Columbia | 281 | 284 | 256 | 331 | 290 | 176 | 150 | 203 | ||
| Quebec | 822 | 720 | 534 | 499 | 412 | 363 | ||||
| France | 2573 | 2565 | 2516 | 1995 | 3605 | 1221 | 1634 | 1150 | 1292 | 1480 |
| The Netherlands | 735 | 538 | 522 | 479 | 477 | |||||
| Austria | 1916 | 860 | 754 | 754 | 851 | 448 | 859 | 487 | 606 | 326 |
| Switzerland | 896 | 985 | 1033 | 773 | 598 | 634 | 420 | 265 | 257 | 338 |
| Berlin | 740 | 985 | 491 | 278 | 506 | 332 | 218 | |||
| Munich | 194 | |||||||||
| Leipzig | 411 | 406 | 262 | 254 | 178 | 212 | ||||
| Rostock | 283 | 105 | 158 | |||||||
| Sweden | 789 | 717 | 713 | 782 | ||||||
| Italy | 1368 | 1565 | 884 | |||||||
| Israel | 498 | 490 | 557 | 613 | 679 | 562 | 744 | 543 | 704 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 82 | 547 | 216.0 |
| 2024 | 82 | 574 | 222.5 |
| 2023 | 100 | 486 | 189.4 |
| 2022 | 121 | 423 | 160.5 |
| 2021 | 203 | 251 | 91.6 |
| 2020 | 393 | 110 | 41.0 |
| 2019 | 430 | 98 | 35.0 |
| 2018 | 519 | 82 | 28.4 |
| 2017 | 453 | 97 | 32.4 |
| 2016 | 454 | 96 | 31.3 |
| 2015 | 496 | 87 | 28.3 |
| 2014 | 521 | 81 | 26.4 |
| 2013 | 575 | 71 | 23.0 |
| 2012 | 701 | 59 | 18.3 |
| 2011 | 744 | 51 | 15.9 |
| 2010 | 840 | 42 | 13.1 |
| 2009 | 783 | 45 | 14.4 |
| 2008 | 767 | 45 | 14.3 |
| 2007 | 764 | 43 | 14.0 |
| 2006 | 835 | 36 | 12.0 |
| 2005 | 1500 | 15 | 5.2 |
| 2004 | 1383 | 16 | 5.6 |
| 2003 | 1472 | 14 | 5.0 |
| 2002 | 3409 | 4 | 1.5 |
| 2001 | 2226 | 7 | 2.6 |
| 2000 | 3247 | 4 | 1.5 |
| 1999 | 3900 | 3 | 1.1 |
| 1998 | 3846 | 3 | 1.0 |
| 1997 | 2411 | 6 | 2.0 |
| 1996 | 2350 | 6 | 2.0 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Raya in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2018. First recorded in 2001. Her peak year there: 2023, at 160.7 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Raya per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 2023 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Raya
1 in 587 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Raya.
1 in 564 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Raya.
1 in 320 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Raya.
1 in 1,689 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Raya.
1 in 778 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Raya.
1 in 383 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Raya.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Lyla.
1 in 394 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Raya.
1 in 1,041 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Raya.
1 in 1,491 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Raya.
1 in 700 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Raya.
Middle names for Raya
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Raya Grace
2-1 beats · initials RG
Changes the beat after Raya: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Raya Olivia
2-4 beats · initials RO · Raya slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Raya: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Raya slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Raya Sophia
2-3 beats · initials RS
Changes the beat after Raya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Raya Maria
2-3 beats · initials RM
Changes the beat after Raya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Raya Emily
2-3 beats · initials RE · Raya slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Raya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Raya slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Raya Julia
2-3 beats · initials RJ
Changes the beat after Raya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Raya Rose
2-1 beats · initials RR
Changes the beat after Raya: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Raya Miriam
2-3 beats · initials RM
Changes the beat after Raya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Raya
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 716 in Scotland
95% alike: moves with Raya across countries and decades.
1 in 1,151 in England and Wales
94% alike: moves with Raya across countries and decades.
1 in 320 in Scotland
93% alike: moves with Raya across countries and decades.
1 in 394 in England and Wales
93% alike: moves with Raya across countries and decades.
1 in 183 in Scotland
93% alike: moves with Raya across countries and decades.
1 in 1,041 in Northern Ireland
93% alike: moves with Raya across countries and decades.
1 in 636 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Raya across countries and decades.
1 in 1,041 in Northern Ireland
92% alike: moves with Raya across countries and decades.
Famous people named Raya
Raya Dunayevskaya.
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American philosopher (1910-1987)
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Raya
4 questions, on how popular she is, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Raya?
Her best rank is No. 82 in Northern Ireland in 2025, about 1 in 280 girls. She is in the published lists of 19 of our 40 regions.
How do you pronounce Raya?
RY-uh, with 2 syllables.
Is Raya getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 15 of 15 regions, falling in none.
Which sister names go with Raya?
The deck's top five sisters for Raya: Kaia, Amara, Myla, Everly and Talia. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.