Ranferi
A name possibly originating from Italian, the meaning is unknown or obscure.
Name Census estimates that about 141 living Americans carry the first name Ranferi. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ranferi today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ranferi births was 1990 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ranferi. 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.
People living today
141
~ 1 in 2,430,882 Americans
Peak year
1990
12 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2019 SSA rank
#11,817
Tracked since 1989
Census
Ranferi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 432 people with the first name Ranferi, which placed it at #22,880 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
#22,880
National first-name rank
People counted
432
432 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ranferi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ranferi is Hispanic at 97.7%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.2%). 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 Ranferi 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 Ranferi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.7% · 422
- White2.1% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Ranferi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ranferi from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 57 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Ranferi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ranferi 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 Ranferi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ranferis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ranferi
The name Ranferi has its origins in the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic tribes that inhabited Scandinavia and parts of northern Europe during the Viking Age (around the 8th to 11th centuries). The name is derived from the Old Norse words "ran," meaning "plunder" or "raid," and "ferja," meaning "to travel by boat." Together, these elements suggest a meaning of "one who travels by boat to raid or plunder."
In the early medieval period, the name Ranferi was particularly prevalent among the seafaring Viking warriors who embarked on raids and expeditions across Europe and beyond. These fearsome raiders and explorers often carried names that reflected their seafaring lifestyle and martial prowess.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ranferi appears in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of medieval literary works that recount the stories and exploits of notable Norsemen. In the Saga of Burnt Njal, a character named Ranferi Gormsson is mentioned as a skilled navigator and warrior who accompanied the legendary Viking chieftain Leif Erikson on his voyage to North America around the year 1000 CE.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Ranferi continued to be used by Scandinavian and Germanic peoples, though its popularity waned as the Viking Age came to an end. However, several notable historical figures bore this name, including Ranferi the Red (c. 950 - 1020), a Danish Viking chieftain who led raids along the coasts of England and France, and Ranferi Haraldsson (c. 1050 - 1120), a Norwegian warrior and explorer who is said to have sailed as far as Greenland and North America.
In the 13th century, a Swedish nobleman named Ranferi Birgersson (c. 1210 - 1266) gained renown as a skilled military commander and trusted advisor to King Eric XI of Sweden. He played a crucial role in the Swedish conquest of Finland and the establishment of Swedish rule over the region.
Another notable bearer of the name was Ranferi Magnusson (c. 1460 - 1528), a Norwegian-born sea captain and explorer who served under the Danish king Christian II. He is credited with discovering and mapping several islands in the North Atlantic, including the Faroe Islands and parts of Greenland.
While the name Ranferi is relatively uncommon in modern times, its historical significance and connection to the Viking Age and maritime exploration remain an integral part of its rich cultural heritage.
People
Ranferi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ranferi 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
Ranferi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ranferi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 141 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ranferi 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 2,430,882 US residents.
Is Ranferi a common name?
We classify Ranferi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 144 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ranferi most popular?
The single biggest year for Ranferi was 1990, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ranferi is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ranferi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 432 people with the name Ranferi, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,880 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 Ranferi 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 Ranferi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ranferi leans strongly male. 421 people counted with this name were male (97.0%), compared with 13 female bearers (3.0%). 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 Ranferi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ranferi is Hispanic at 97.7%. The next largest groups are White (2.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.2%). 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 Ranferi most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Ranferi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.7% (422 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 Ranferi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ranferi a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ranferi 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 Ranferi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ranferi 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 Ranferi 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 share the name Ranferi?
You can see how many Americans are named Ranferi on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.