Raif
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- RA-if
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,511 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #5,606 for boys
Raif is a boys' name of Arabic origin, meaning “kind, compassionate”. In 2025 it ranked 2,511th for boys in the UK (9 babies) and 5,606th for boys in the US (16 babies).
What does Raif mean?
Arabic: from Ra'if; also used as a spelling of Rafe
“kind, compassionate”
From the Arabic ra'if, kind or merciful, also used in Turkish; in Britain it is sometimes a spelling of Rafe.
Is Raif a girl's or a boy's name?
Raif is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 9 boys in the UK and 16 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Raif in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,511among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 9about 1 in 33,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Fallingdown 46% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 9 boys in the UK were named Raif, making it the 2,511th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,241st. Its busiest year was 2018, with 28 boys.
2025 had fewer boys named Raif than any year since 2009.
Half of all the boys named Raif in the UK since 1996 were born between 2010 and 2019, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 20 boys in the UK were given Raif or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,242, up from #2,511 for this spelling alone.
- Raef 11
- Raif 9
Among boys in 2025, it was 2,436th in England and Wales.
Raif in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | #2,511 |
| 2024 | 12 | #2,009 |
| 2023 | 18 | #1,507 |
| 2022 | 13 | #1,886 |
| 2021 | 10 | #2,257 |
| 2020 | 23 | #1,241 |
| 2019 | 21 | #1,302 |
| 2018 | 28 | #1,098 |
| 2017 | 14 | #1,822 |
| 2016 | 15 | #1,723 |
| 2015 | 15 | #1,693 |
| 2014 | 11 | #2,054 |
| 2013 | 25 | #1,139 |
| 2012 | 18 | #1,478 |
| 2011 | 20 | #1,338 |
| 2010 | 11 | #2,013 |
| 2009 | 8 | #2,445 |
| 2008 | 14 | #1,599 |
| 2007 | 11 | #1,848 |
| 2006 | 12 | #1,640 |
| 2005 | 6 | #2,545 |
| 2004 | 7 | #2,157 |
| 2003 | 5 | #2,574 |
| 2002 | 5 | #2,358 |
| 2001 | 5 | #2,326 |
| 2000 | 3 | #3,146 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 4 | #2,438 |
How popular is Raif in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,606among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 16about 1 in 110,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 16 boys in the US were named Raif, making it the 5,606th most popular name for boys. Its busiest year was 2010, with 22 boys. It first appears in the records in 1967.
2025 had more boys named Raif than any year since 2015.
Half of all the boys named Raif in the US since 1880 were born between 2005 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
Raif in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 16 | #5,606 |
| 2024 | 12 | #6,827 |
| 2023 | 12 | #6,892 |
| 2022 | 12 | #6,822 |
| 2021 | 9 | #8,161 |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 8 | #8,883 |
| 2018 | 9 | #8,150 |
| 2017 | 12 | #6,681 |
| 2016 | 10 | #7,600 |
| 2015 | 18 | #5,056 |
| 2014 | 13 | #6,303 |
| 2013 | 14 | #5,919 |
| 2012 | 16 | #5,476 |
| 2011 | 13 | #6,250 |
| 2010 | 22 | #4,365 |
| 2009 | 12 | #6,798 |
| 2008 | 16 | #5,482 |
| 2007 | 10 | #7,586 |
| 2006 | 18 | #4,861 |
| 2005 | 12 | #6,220 |
| 2004 | 12 | #6,132 |
| 2003 | 17 | #4,611 |
| 2002 | 21 | #3,904 |
| 2001 | 9 | #6,928 |
| 2000 | 5 | #10,341 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 5 | #9,008 |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 7 | #3,229 |
Names like Raif
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Muhammad Hamza Musa Abdullah Zayd Ahmed Zayaan Zayan Rayyan Umar Mustafa Saif
Other spellings of Raif
Names related to Raif
More Arabic names
Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Aaliyah Amir Amira Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Kairo
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Raif: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/raif, updated 20 October 2026.