Raina
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "queen" or "princess".
Name Census estimates that about 11,750 living Americans carry the first name Raina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Raina today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raina births was 2011 (375 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raina. 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 Raina with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
12K
~ 1 in 29,171 Americans
Peak year
2011
375 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,000
Tracked since 1946
Census
Raina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,300 people with the first name Raina, which placed it at #2,416 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
#2,416
National first-name rank
People counted
10K
10,300 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raina is White at 50.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.6%). 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 Raina 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 Raina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.4% · 5,187
- Black or African American14.6% · 1,500
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.6% · 1,401
- Hispanic or Latino12.1% · 1,247
- Two or more races8.1% · 832
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 133
Popularity
Raina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raina from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 3,254 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Raina remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raina 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 Raina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rainas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 41 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Raina, while South Dakota, New Mexico, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 216 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Raina
The name Raina is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was the primary sacred language of ancient India. The name is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "rajan," meaning "king" or "ruler." This suggests that the name Raina may have initially been associated with royalty or nobility.
In Hindu mythology, the name Raina is sometimes linked to the goddess Lakshmi, who is the goddess of wealth, fortune, and prosperity. This connection may have contributed to the name's popularity among certain Hindu communities, who may have chosen it as a way to bestow blessings of abundance and good fortune upon their children.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Raina can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In this epic, Raina is mentioned as the name of a minor character, though details about their role or significance are scarce.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Raina. One of the earliest recorded was Raina Thapa (1498-1554), a Nepalese military commander and nobleman who played a significant role in the unification of Nepal during the 16th century.
Another notable figure was Raina Kabaeva (1783-1842), a Russian writer and poet who was celebrated for her contributions to the development of Russian literature during the Romantic period.
In the realm of politics, Raina Vyalitsyna (1902-1978) was a prominent Soviet diplomat and ambassador who served as the Soviet Union's first female ambassador to several countries.
In the field of science, Raina Bhattacharya (1923-2007) was an Indian physicist and academic who made significant contributions to the study of nuclear physics and particle physics.
Lastly, Raina Telgemeier (born 1977) is a contemporary American cartoonist and author who has gained widespread recognition for her autobiographical graphic novels, particularly those aimed at young adult audiences.
These examples illustrate the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals who have borne the name Raina throughout history, spanning various cultures, professions, and time periods.
People
Raina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raina 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
Raina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11,750 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raina 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 29,171 US residents.
Is Raina a common name?
We classify Raina as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12,162 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raina most popular?
The single biggest year for Raina was 2011, when 375 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raina is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,300 people with the name Raina, or 3.41 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,416 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 Raina 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 Raina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raina appears almost entirely female. Of the 10,301 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Raina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raina is White at 50.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.6%). 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 Raina most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Raina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.4% (5,187 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 Raina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raina 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 Raina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raina 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 Raina 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 Americans are named Raina?
See how many Americans are named Raina on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.