# Rainer (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/rainer/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “counsel by the gods”, “army” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 1,276 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,260 / 16 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 27, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Variant of Rayner, a patronymic surname from a medieval given name from Proto-Germanic *raginą (“counsel by the gods”) + *harjaz (“army”). Also borrowed from modern German.

## What it means

Rainer is grouped under warrior.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 5 | 19,536 |
| 2010 | 5 | 19,192 |
| 2020 | 6 | 14,729 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 19 | 4,942 |
| 2012 | 23 | 4,354 |
| 2013 | 27 | 3,832 |
| 2014 | 35 | 3,201 |
| 2015 | 36 | 3,211 |
| 2016 | 43 | 2,823 |
| 2017 | 48 | 2,623 |
| 2018 | 53 | 2,464 |
| 2019 | 35 | 3,326 |
| 2020 | 43 | 2,829 |
| 2021 | 53 | 2,518 |
| 2022 | 44 | 2,906 |
| 2023 | 45 | 2,838 |
| 2024 | 51 | 2,624 |
| 2025 | 34 | 3,429 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 3 | 2,859 |
| 2004 | 3 | 3,651 |
| 2012 | 4 | 3,987 |
| 2013 | 3 | 4,685 |
| 2017 | 4 | 3,996 |
| 2020 | 3 | 4,608 |
| 2021 | 4 | 3,990 |
| 2022 | 3 | 4,789 |

## People named Rainer

- Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian poet and writer (1875–1926)
- Rainer Weiss, American physicist (1932–2025)
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German filmmaker, playwright and actor (1945-1982)
- Rainer Bonhof, German footballer
- Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria, Austrian archduke (1783-1853)
- Rainer Zitelmann, German historian, author, management consultant and real estate expert
- Rainer von Fieandt, Finnish politician (1890–1972)
- Rainer Schönfelder, Austrian Alpine skier
- Rainer Zobel, German footballer and manager (born 1948)
- Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria, Archduke of Austria (1827-1913)
- Rainer Schmidt, East German ski jumper
- Rainer Troppa, German association football player and manager (1958-2023)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.