# Ray (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/ray/  
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 | French |
| Meaning | “king”, “roe deer”, “to gush out”, “flow”, “radiate”, “paradise” |
| Pronunciation | /ɹeɪ/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Rey, Rai, Rhay, Rhey, Rhaga, Rhagae, Rhaganae, Rhages, Rages, Raga, Rayy |
| US babies named this | 210,307 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 204,701 / 5,606 (3% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,482, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

* As an English surname, from pet forms derived from the root of Raymond. * Also as an English surname, from Old French rei (“king”). Compare Roy, King. * Also as an English surname, from Old English rā (“roe deer”). Compare Roe. * Also as an English surname, variant of Wray and Rye. * As a Scottish Gaelic surname, shortened from McRae. * As a French surname, from the verb raier (“to gush out, flow, radiate”). Compare Leray. * As a Polish and Slovene surname, Americanized from Raj, from raj (“paradise”). * As an Indian surname, variant of Rai.

## What it means

Ray is grouped under deer and king.

## 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 | 19,557 |
| 2012 | 5 | 18,950 |
| 2013 | 11 | 10,103 |
| 2014 | 9 | 11,735 |
| 2015 | 10 | 10,708 |
| 2016 | 21 | 6,146 |
| 2017 | 21 | 5,996 |
| 2018 | 21 | 5,963 |
| 2019 | 17 | 6,954 |
| 2020 | 22 | 5,618 |
| 2021 | 27 | 4,928 |
| 2022 | 29 | 4,767 |
| 2023 | 26 | 5,096 |
| 2024 | 28 | 4,865 |
| 2025 | 19 | 6,274 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 347 | 680 |
| 2012 | 327 | 719 |
| 2013 | 363 | 666 |
| 2014 | 329 | 728 |
| 2015 | 349 | 713 |
| 2016 | 324 | 753 |
| 2017 | 306 | 769 |
| 2018 | 330 | 728 |
| 2019 | 328 | 736 |
| 2020 | 343 | 725 |
| 2021 | 283 | 841 |
| 2022 | 332 | 764 |
| 2023 | 338 | 764 |
| 2024 | 323 | 779 |
| 2025 | 319 | 792 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 4 | 3,174 |
| 2011 | 3 | 5,785 |
| 2016 | 3 | 5,785 |
| 2017 | 6 | 3,583 |
| 2019 | 3 | 5,591 |
| 2020 | 5 | 3,899 |
| 2021 | 5 | 3,961 |
| 2022 | 8 | 2,888 |
| 2023 | 8 | 2,927 |
| 2024 | 14 | 2,000 |
| 2025 | 5 | 4,201 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 39 | 781 |
| 2012 | 59 | 592 |
| 2013 | 31 | 931 |
| 2014 | 75 | 513 |
| 2015 | 73 | 526 |
| 2016 | 88 | 459 |
| 2017 | 84 | 483 |
| 2018 | 75 | 520 |
| 2019 | 95 | 429 |
| 2020 | 61 | 587 |
| 2021 | 82 | 487 |
| 2022 | 74 | 528 |
| 2023 | 71 | 539 |
| 2024 | 62 | 613 |
| 2025 | 64 | 602 |

## People named Ray

- Ray Bradbury, American author and screenwriter (1920–2012)
- Stevie Ray Vaughan, American blues guitarist (1954–1990)
- Ray Kroc, American businessman
- Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (1921–1989)
- Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer
- Ray Clemence, English association football player (1948–2020)
- Ray Winstone, English actor
- Ray William Johnson, American YouTuber (born 1981)
- Ray Stevenson, British actor (1964–2023)
- Ray Walston, American actor (1914–2001)
- Ray Dolby, American engineer and inventor of the Dolby noise reduction system (1933-2013)
- Ray Wilkins, English footballer and manager (1956-2018)

## 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.