Raya
Hebrew speakers use it for a word meaning friend or companion; in Bulgarian and Russian it serves as a short form of Raisa, a name of Greek origin.
Raya in 2025
Raya was given to 836 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 759th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 3,966 babies born.
The history of Raya
Raya reached its highest point in 2023, when 867 babies were given the name, ranking 737th that year.
Across the 68 years of records since 1958, 8,008 babies have been named Raya. Half of them were born before 2020, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation Alpha.
Raya by decade
| Decade | Babies named Raya | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 5 | 10,079 |
| 1960s | 16 | 9,545 |
| 1970s | 64 | 7,153 |
| 1980s | 138 | 5,604 |
| 1990s | 385 | 4,197 |
| 2000s | 1,052 | 2,600 |
| 2010s | 2,087 | 1,890 |
| 2020s | 4,261 | 737 |
Where Raya is heading
Raya has grown more than 4.1 times over the past decade, from 206 babies in 2015 to 836 in 2025.
Names like Raya
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Raya.