Raife
A masculine name derived from Rafe, an English diminutive of Ralph.
Name Census estimates that about 207 living Americans carry the first name Raife. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Raife today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raife births was 2024 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raife. 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 Raife with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
207
~ 1 in 1,655,818 Americans
Peak year
2024
39 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,137
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Raife: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raife from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 112 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raife 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 Raife during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Raife
The name Raife is a variant spelling of the Arabic name Rafi, which means "exalted" or "elevated". It is believed to have originated in the Middle East during the medieval period, where it was commonly used among Muslim communities.
Raife can be traced back to the Arabic root word "rafa'a", which means "to raise" or "to exalt". In Islamic tradition, the name is often associated with individuals who possess qualities of nobility, wisdom, and spiritual enlightenment.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Raife can be found in the writings of the famous Islamic scholar and philosopher, Al-Ghazali (1058-1111 CE), who mentioned a disciple named Raife in his works. This suggests that the name was in use during the 11th century in the Islamic world.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Raife. One such individual was Raife ibn Abi Bakr (1165-1234 CE), a renowned Islamic jurist and scholar from Cordoba, Spain, who made significant contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence.
In the 14th century, Raife al-Dimashqi (1305-1373 CE) was a prominent Syrian scholar and historian who authored several works on the history and geography of the Islamic world.
During the Ottoman Empire, Raife Efendi (1520-1588 CE) was a prominent Turkish calligrapher and poet, renowned for his mastery of the art of calligraphy and his contributions to Ottoman literature.
In more recent times, Raife Ridwan (1853-1919) was an influential Egyptian reformer and feminist who advocated for women's rights and education in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Another notable figure was Raife Hakan (1915-1991), a Turkish author and playwright who wrote extensively on social and political themes, reflecting the struggles and aspirations of the modern Turkish society.
While the name Raife has its roots in Arabic and Islamic culture, it has also been adopted and adapted in various other regions and cultures over the centuries, reflecting the diverse and rich tapestry of human history and cultural exchange.
People
Raife + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raife 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
Raife: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raife?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 207 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raife 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 1,655,818 US residents.
Is Raife a common name?
We classify Raife as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 209 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raife most popular?
The single biggest year for Raife was 2024, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raife is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Raife in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raife a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raife 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 Raife still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raife 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 Raife 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Raife?
Find out how many people share the name Raife on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.