Raef
A masculine Arabic name meaning "companion" or "shepherd".
Name Census estimates that about 363 living Americans carry the first name Raef. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Raef today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raef births was 2002 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raef. 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 Raef with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
363
~ 1 in 944,227 Americans
Peak year
2002
38 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,637
Tracked since 1966
Census
Raef in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 430 people with the first name Raef, which placed it at #22,949 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
#22,949
National first-name rank
People counted
430
430 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raef
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raef is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Raef 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 Raef at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.4% · 363
- Hispanic or Latino7.0% · 30
- Two or more races4.0% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 15
- Black or African American1.2% · 5
Popularity
Raef: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raef from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 172 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raef 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 Raef during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Raefs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Raef
The name Raef has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is believed to have derived from the Arabic root word "rafa'a," which means "to raise" or "to elevate." This name carries connotations of nobility, prestige, and elevated status.
In the early Islamic era, the name Raef was commonly used by Arab scholars, poets, and intellectuals. One of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be found in the writings of the renowned 9th-century Arabic poet and scholar, Abu Tammam. His full name was Habib ibn Aws al-Ta'i, but he was also known by the name Raef al-Dai.
During the medieval period, the name Raef gained popularity among Muslim rulers and nobles. One notable figure was Raef al-Dawlah, a 10th-century Hamdanid ruler who governed parts of modern-day Iraq and Syria. His full name was Abu Taghlib Raef al-Dawlah al-Hasan ibn Ahmad.
In the 12th century, the name Raef appeared in the works of the renowned Persian poet and philosopher, Rumi. One of Rumi's disciples was a man named Raef al-Din, who is mentioned in several of Rumi's writings.
Another historical figure with the name Raef was Raef al-Din al-Tahtawi, an Egyptian writer, scholar, and reformer who lived in the 19th century. He played a significant role in the modernization of Egypt and introduced many Western ideas and concepts to the country.
In more recent times, the name Raef has been carried by several notable individuals, including:
1. Raef Badawi, a Saudi Arabian writer and activist born in 1984, known for his advocacy of free speech and human rights.
2. Raef Haj Yahya, a Lebanese politician and former member of the Lebanese Parliament, born in 1952.
3. Raef Ismail, an Egyptian actor and filmmaker born in 1973, known for his work in both Arabic and American productions.
4. Raef Al-Yaziji, a Syrian poet and writer who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, recognized for his contributions to modern Arabic literature.
5. Raef Zayed, a Palestinian-American businessman and entrepreneur born in 1967, who founded several successful tech companies in Silicon Valley.
While the name Raef has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has transcended linguistic and cultural boundaries, and individuals from various backgrounds have adopted and embraced this name throughout history.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Raef
People
Raef + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raef 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
Raef: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raef?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 363 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raef 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 944,227 US residents.
Is Raef a common name?
We classify Raef as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 367 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raef most popular?
The single biggest year for Raef was 2002, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raef is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raef in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 430 people with the name Raef, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,949 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 Raef 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 Raef?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raef appears almost entirely male. Of the 429 people counted with this name, 99.1% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Raef?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raef is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Raef most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Raef in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.4% (363 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 Raef in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raef a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raef in the SSA data are male. 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 Raef still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raef 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 Raef 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 many people have Raef as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.