Rae
Ray or beam of light; lively, cheerful.
Name Census estimates that about 13,479 living Americans carry the first name Rae. It is a predominantly female name (96.1% of registrations). The average person named Rae today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rae births was 1956 (412 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rae. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Rae with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Rae is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 955 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
13K
~ 1 in 25,429 Americans
Peak year
1956
412 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,265
Tracked since 1880
Census
Rae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 13,643 people with the first name Rae, which placed it at #2,014 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,014
National first-name rank
People counted
14K
13,643 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rae is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.2%) and Hispanic (5.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Rae described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Rae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.1% · 10,649
- Black or African American7.2% · 985
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 777
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 576
- Two or more races3.5% · 479
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 177
Gender
Gender distribution for Rae
Rae leans heavily female at 96.1% of total registrations, but 955 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Rae as a male name
- Ranked #7,593 in 2024
- 11 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1923 (27 births)
Rae as a female name
- Ranked #1,265 in 2024
- 184 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1956 (406 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rae leans strongly female. 12,985 people counted with this name were female (95.2%), compared with 654 male bearers (4.8%).
Popularity
Rae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rae from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 3,562 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Rae remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rae by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Rae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Raes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 47 states and territories. New York, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Rae, while Wyoming, Rhode Island, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 326 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rae
The name Rae is a diminutive form of the feminine name Rachel, which has its origins in the Hebrew language. Rachel is derived from the Hebrew word "râhêl," meaning "ewe" or "female sheep." The name is found in the Old Testament of the Bible, where Rachel was the beloved wife of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.
The name Rae is believed to have emerged as a shorter, more informal version of Rachel in the English-speaking world during the Middle Ages. Its first recorded use dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in various historical records and documents.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rae can be found in the writings of the English historian and philosopher William of Malmesbury, who lived from around 1095 to 1143. He mentioned a woman named Rae in his work "Gesta Regum Anglorum" (Deeds of the English Kings).
In the 14th century, a woman named Rae de Beaumont was mentioned in the records of the English royal court. She was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Philippa of Hainault, the wife of King Edward III of England.
During the Renaissance period, the name Rae gained popularity among the upper classes in England and Scotland. One notable figure from this time was Rae Mackintosh, a Scottish noblewoman who lived in the late 16th century and was known for her involvement in the political and religious conflicts of the era.
In the 17th century, the name Rae was associated with the Puritan movement in England. A woman named Rae Winthrop, born around 1610, was the wife of John Winthrop, the founder and first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in America.
Another historical figure with the name Rae was Rae Blanchard, a French writer and philosopher who lived from 1723 to 1793. She was a prominent figure in the Enlightenment era and was known for her works on philosophy and education.
Throughout history, the name Rae has been a popular choice among various cultures and societies, reflecting its enduring appeal and rich heritage. While it may have evolved from the more traditional Rachel, the name Rae has carved out its own unique identity and significance.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Rae
People
Rae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rae as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13,479 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rae going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 25,429 US residents.
Is Rae a common name?
We classify Rae as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 24,242 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rae most popular?
The single biggest year for Rae was 1956, when 412 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rae is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 13,643 people with the name Rae, or 4.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,014 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Rae in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Rae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rae leans strongly female. 12,985 people counted with this name were female (95.2%), compared with 654 male bearers (4.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Rae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rae is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.2%) and Hispanic (5.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Rae most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.1% (10,649 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Rae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rae a female name?
Yes, 96.1% of people registered as Rae in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Rae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rae in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Rae can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Rae?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.