Raya
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- RY-a
- Origin
- Hebrew
- UK rank, 2025
- #82 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #369 for girls
Raya is a girls' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “friend, companion”. In 2025 it ranked 82nd for girls in the UK (615 babies) and 369th for girls in the US (831 babies).
What does Raya mean?
Hebrew: also an Arabic and Bulgarian name
“friend, companion”
In Hebrew raya means friend or beloved companion; the name is also used independently in Arabic and Bulgarian.
Is Raya a girl's or a boy's name?
Raya is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 615 girls in the UK and 831 girls and 5 boys in the US.
How popular is Raya in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #82among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 615about 1 in 450 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising fastup 445% in five years
- Same name in a class
- 3%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 615 girls in the UK were named Raya, making it the 82nd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 377th. Its busiest year was 2024, with 640 girls.
Half of all the girls named Raya in the UK since 1996 were born between 2018 and 2024, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 696 girls in the UK were given Raya or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #84.
Among girls in 2025, it was 82nd in England and Wales, 106th in Scotland and 82nd in Northern Ireland.
In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 2024 (#82).
Raya in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 615 | #82 |
| 2024 | 640 | #84 |
| 2023 | 548 | #101 |
| 2022 | 458 | #124 |
| 2021 | 276 | #205 |
| 2020 | 129 | #377 |
| 2019 | 111 | #421 |
| 2018 | 91 | #519 |
| 2017 | 102 | #476 |
| 2016 | 104 | #464 |
| 2015 | 91 | #519 |
| 2014 | 87 | #542 |
| 2013 | 75 | #602 |
| 2012 | 63 | #705 |
| 2011 | 51 | #785 |
| 2010 | 43 | #888 |
| 2009 | 46 | #824 |
| 2008 | 46 | #810 |
| 2007 | 45 | #789 |
| 2006 | 37 | #868 |
| 2005 | 15 | #1,608 |
| 2004 | 17 | #1,399 |
| 2003 | 14 | #1,564 |
| 2002 | 4 | #3,556 |
| 2001 | 7 | #2,341 |
| 2000 | 4 | #3,399 |
| 1999 | 3 | #4,041 |
| 1998 | 4 | #3,310 |
| 1997 | 6 | #2,552 |
| 1996 | 7 | #2,201 |
How popular is Raya in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #369among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 831about 1 in 1,900 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising fastup 250% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 831 girls in the US were named Raya, making it the 369th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 932nd. Its busiest year was 2023, with 867 girls. It first appears in the records in 1958. 5 boys were also named Raya in 2025 (12,003rd for boys).
Half of all the girls named Raya in the US since 1880 were born between 2011 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 1,086 girls in the US were given Raya or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #308, up from #369 for this spelling alone.
Raya in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 831 | #369 |
| 2024 | 861 | #364 |
| 2023 | 867 | #353 |
| 2022 | 784 | #400 |
| 2021 | 636 | #495 |
| 2020 | 277 | #932 |
| 2019 | 239 | #1,061 |
| 2018 | 216 | #1,130 |
| 2017 | 249 | #1,036 |
| 2016 | 237 | #1,088 |
| 2015 | 206 | #1,209 |
| 2014 | 197 | #1,235 |
| 2013 | 199 | #1,203 |
| 2012 | 185 | #1,288 |
| 2011 | 191 | #1,250 |
| 2010 | 168 | #1,379 |
| 2009 | 158 | #1,469 |
| 2008 | 154 | #1,508 |
| 2007 | 126 | #1,726 |
| 2006 | 125 | #1,682 |
| 2005 | 108 | #1,802 |
| 2004 | 98 | #1,908 |
| 2003 | 105 | #1,785 |
| 2002 | 61 | #2,551 |
| 2001 | 58 | #2,596 |
| 2000 | 59 | #2,541 |
| 1999 | 54 | #2,607 |
| 1998 | 45 | #2,886 |
| 1997 | 42 | #2,871 |
| 1996 | 25 | #4,179 |
| 1995 | 32 | #3,417 |
| 1994 | 33 | #3,367 |
| 1993 | 49 | #2,528 |
| 1992 | 40 | #2,915 |
| 1991 | 31 | #3,437 |
| 1990 | 34 | #3,222 |
| 1989 | 28 | #3,560 |
| 1988 | 27 | #3,478 |
| 1987 | 12 | #5,918 |
| 1986 | 11 | #6,153 |
| 1985 | 12 | #5,676 |
| 1984 | 7 | #8,149 |
| 1983 | 11 | #5,822 |
| 1982 | 8 | #7,467 |
| 1981 | 9 | #6,802 |
| 1980 | 13 | #5,244 |
| 1979 | 15 | #4,625 |
| 1978 | 5 | #9,748 |
| 1977 | 9 | #6,338 |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 9 | #5,982 |
| 1974 | 7 | #6,898 |
| 1973 | 7 | #6,664 |
| 1972 | 12 | #4,522 |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 5 | #7,469 |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 5 | #6,803 |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 6 | #6,008 |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 5 | #6,102 |
Names like Raya
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa Maya Ayla Zainab Maryam Ayah Anaya Amaya Amira Hafsa Ayra Aaliyah
Other spellings of Raya
Names related to Raya
More Hebrew names
Noah Isabella Elijah James Jack Mia Ava Jude Ezra Benjamin Isaac Jacob Ethan Daniel Samuel Elias
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, “Raya: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/raya, updated 20 October 2026.