Raylen
An Old English name combining the elements "rae" meaning "roe deer" and "len" or "lena" meaning "meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 2,261 living Americans carry the first name Raylen. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 66.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Raylen today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raylen births was 2015 (161 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raylen. 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 Raylen with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Raylen is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.3K
~ 1 in 151,594 Americans
Peak year
2015
161 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,809
Tracked since 1962
Census
Raylen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,582 people with the first name Raylen, which placed it at #8,978 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
#8,978
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,582 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raylen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raylen is White at 51.7%. The next largest groups are Black (29.9%) and Hispanic (8.4%). 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 Raylen 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 Raylen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.7% · 818
- Black or African American29.9% · 473
- Hispanic or Latino8.4% · 133
- Two or more races6.4% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 22
Gender
Gender distribution for Raylen
Raylen is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 2,280 total registrations, 1,514 (66.4%) were male and 766 (33.6%) were female.
Raylen as a male name
- Ranked #1,809 in 2024
- 90 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (107 births)
Raylen as a female name
- Ranked #4,089 in 2024
- 36 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (55 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Raylen on both sides of the split. Of the 1,583 people counted with this name, 961 were male (60.7%) and 622 were female (39.3%).
Popularity
Raylen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raylen from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,306 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Raylen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raylen 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 Raylen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Raylens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, Georgia recorded the most babies named Raylen, while Oklahoma, New York, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Raylen
The given name Raylen is a relatively modern name, originating in the late 20th century. It is believed to have been derived from a combination of the English name "Ray" and the suffix "-len," which is thought to have been inspired by names like Kaylen or Jaylen. The name does not have a clear linguistic or cultural origin, as it is a relatively new coinage.
Despite its modern creation, there are a few historical references to names that may have influenced or inspired the formation of Raylen. For instance, the name "Raylene" has been in use since the early 20th century, and it is possible that Raylen is a variation or diminutive of this name. Additionally, the name "Raylen" shares some similarities with the name "Raymund," which has its roots in the Germanic name "Raginmund," meaning "advice" and "protection."
The earliest recorded examples of the name Raylen are relatively scarce, as it is a relatively new name. However, there are a few notable individuals who have borne this name throughout history. One of the earliest recorded instances is Raylen Vinluan, a Filipino-American artist and actor born in 1992. Another individual with this name is Raylen Biggs, an American professional basketball player who was born in 1991.
Raylen Vinegar, born in 1980, is an American writer and poet who has published several works. Raylen Sellars, born in 1988, is an Australian rugby league player who has represented his country in international competitions. Lastly, Raylen Goforth, born in 1987, is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division.
It is worth noting that while these individuals represent some of the earliest recorded instances of the name Raylen, the name's popularity and usage may have increased in recent years, leading to more individuals bearing this name in modern times.
People
Raylen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raylen 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
Raylen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raylen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,261 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raylen 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 151,594 US residents.
Is Raylen a common name?
We classify Raylen as "Rare". It ranks above 94.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,280 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raylen most popular?
The single biggest year for Raylen was 2015, when 161 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raylen is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raylen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,582 people with the name Raylen, or 0.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,978 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 Raylen 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 Raylen?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Raylen on both sides of the split. Of the 1,583 people counted with this name, 961 were male (60.7%) and 622 were female (39.3%). 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 Raylen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raylen is White at 51.7%. The next largest groups are Black (29.9%) and Hispanic (8.4%). 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 Raylen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Raylen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.7% (818 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 Raylen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raylen a male name?
Yes, 66.4% of people registered as Raylen 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 Raylen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raylen 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 Raylen 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 Raylen as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Raylen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.