Raleigh
An English surname from a Devon place name, formed from Old English ra, a roe deer, and leah, a woodland clearing.
Raleigh in 2025
Raleigh was given to 168 babies in the United States in 2025 — 64 boys and 104 girls, making it the 2,496th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 19,734 babies born.
The history of Raleigh
Raleigh reached its highest point in 2019, when 260 babies were given the name, ranking 1,838th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 814th, in 1886.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 12,336 babies have been named Raleigh. Half of them were born before 1972, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation X.
Raleigh by decade
| Decade | Babies named Raleigh | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 168 | 814 |
| 1890s | 185 | 881 |
| 1900s | 233 | 1,008 |
| 1910s | 846 | 1,065 |
| 1920s | 1,170 | 1,134 |
| 1930s | 916 | 1,188 |
| 1940s | 1,046 | 1,183 |
| 1950s | 868 | 1,570 |
| 1960s | 584 | 2,047 |
| 1970s | 484 | 2,468 |
| 1980s | 598 | 2,424 |
| 1990s | 794 | 2,607 |
| 2000s | 1,076 | 2,689 |
| 2010s | 2,225 | 1,838 |
| 2020s | 1,143 | 2,000 |
Where Raleigh is heading
Raleigh has fallen 28% over the past decade, from 234 babies in 2015 to 168 in 2025.
Names like Raleigh
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Raleigh.