Ray Boy
How popular is Ray?
#791 boy name in 2025
319 baby boys were named Ray in the US in 2025, making it the 791st most popular boy name. Another 19 girls got the name (#6,115 for girls).
Ray popularity over time
Boys Girls
| Rank in 2025 | #791 for boys (▼ 14 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 319 boys, 19 girls |
| 10-year trend | Steady (-9% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #712 in 2015, #724 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 1957 (3,410 boys) |
| Highest rank | #49 in 1891 |
| First recorded | 1880 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 93% boys, 7% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 0.2% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
Ray counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the Ray family of names ranked #696 for boys in 2025 (#683 the year before), with 362 babies in all.
| Spelling | Boys in 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Ray | 319 | 88% |
| Rai | 29 | 8% |
| Ra | 14 | 4% |
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Where Ray is most popular
Babies named Ray per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
- Alaska: 0.4 per 1,000 (5 boys)
- Utah: 0.4 per 1,000 (35 boys)
- California: 0.3 per 1,000 (284 boys)
- Washington: 0.3 per 1,000 (45 boys)
- Arizona: 0.3 per 1,000 (43 boys)
Ray by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 2,371 | #54 |
| 1890s | 3,763 | #49 |
| 1900s | 4,256 | #55 |
| 1910s | 17,792 | #67 |
| 1920s | 32,045 | #57 |
| 1930s | 30,211 | #57 |
| 1940s | 29,656 | #77 |
| 1950s | 29,912 | #110 |
| 1960s | 22,183 | #121 |
| 1970s | 10,077 | #186 |
| 1980s | 7,835 | #254 |
| 1990s | 5,401 | #328 |
| 2000s | 3,894 | #516 |
| 2010s | 3,367 | #659 |
| 2020s | 1,938 | #724 |
Boy names about as popular as Ray
Questions
- Is Ray a boy or girl name?
- Ray is mostly a boy name. Over the last 10 years, 93% of babies named Ray were boys.
- How popular is the name Ray?
- 319 baby boys were named Ray in the US in 2025, making it the 791st most popular boy name. Another 19 girls got the name (#6,115 for girls).
- When was Ray most popular?
- Ray peaked in 1957, when 3,410 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #49 in 1891.
- How many people are named Ray?
- 210,307 babies have been named Ray in the US since 1880. We estimate about 91,229 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 65.
- Where is Ray most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, Ray was most common in Alaska, at 0.4 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.