Rayon
Derived from the French word for "ray" or "beam", possibly referring to a radiant personality.
Name Census estimates that about 531 living Americans carry the first name Rayon. It is a predominantly male name (98.0% of registrations). The average person named Rayon today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rayon births was 2008 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rayon. 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 Rayon with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
531
~ 1 in 645,488 Americans
Peak year
2008
25 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,139
Tracked since 1975
Census
Rayon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 857 people with the first name Rayon, which placed it at #13,919 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
#13,919
National first-name rank
People counted
857
857 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rayon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rayon is Black at 82.4%. The next largest groups are White (7.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.9%). 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 Rayon 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 Rayon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.4% · 706
- White7.1% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 28
- Two or more races2.7% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Rayon
Rayon leans heavily male at 98.0% of total registrations, but 11 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Rayon as a male name
- Ranked #7,139 in 2024
- 12 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (25 births)
Rayon as a female name
- Ranked #16,982 in 2000
- 5 female births in 2000
- Peak: 1998 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rayon leans strongly male. 779 people counted with this name were male (90.9%), compared with 78 female bearers (9.1%).
Popularity
Rayon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rayon from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 150 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Rayon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rayon 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 Rayon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rayons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rayon
Rayon is a name that has its origins in the French language. It is derived from the word "rayon," which means "ray" or "beam." This name likely emerged in the 19th century, coinciding with the invention of the synthetic fiber known as rayon.
The name Rayon may have been chosen to represent the shimmering, radiant quality of the new fabric. It was a way to evoke the idea of light and brilliance, much like the way a ray of sunlight can illuminate a room. The use of the name in this context was likely metaphorical, meant to capture the essence of this innovative material.
While the name Rayon does not have any recorded historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its French origins and connection to the textile industry make it a unique and interesting choice for a given name.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Rayon was Rayon d'Or, a French racehorse born in 1846. The name, which translates to "Golden Ray," was likely chosen to reflect the horse's golden coat and the hope that it would shine brightly on the racetrack.
Another notable individual with the name Rayon was Rayon Vert (1814-1905), a French painter known for his landscapes and seascapes. His name, which means "Green Ray," may have been inspired by the optical phenomenon of the same name, where a green flash can sometimes be seen at the moment the sun's upper edge disappears below the horizon.
In the world of literature, Rayon was the name of a character in the novel "Le Rayon Vert" (The Green Ray) by Jules Verne, published in 1882. The novel's title and the character's name both refer to the same optical phenomenon, highlighting the author's fascination with science and natural wonders.
Moving into the 20th century, Rayon Ambert (1902-1978) was a French politician and member of the National Assembly. His name, which could be interpreted as "Amber Ray," may have been chosen to evoke a sense of warmth and radiance.
Finally, Rayon Putra (1940-2022) was an Indonesian diplomat and politician who served as the country's Ambassador to the United States from 1991 to 1996. The name "Putra" means "son" in Indonesian, so his full name could be interpreted as "Son of Ray" or "Ray's Son."
Overall, the name Rayon is a unique and intriguing choice that reflects its French origins and connection to the textile industry. While not widely used as a given name, it has been borne by individuals across various fields, from horse racing to art, literature, politics, and diplomacy, each adding their own unique chapter to the history of this name.
People
Rayon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rayon 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
Rayon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rayon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 531 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rayon 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 645,488 US residents.
Is Rayon a common name?
We classify Rayon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 541 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rayon most popular?
The single biggest year for Rayon was 2008, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rayon is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rayon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 857 people with the name Rayon, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,919 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 Rayon 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 Rayon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rayon leans strongly male. 779 people counted with this name were male (90.9%), compared with 78 female bearers (9.1%). 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 Rayon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rayon is Black at 82.4%. The next largest groups are White (7.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.9%). 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 Rayon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Rayon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (706 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 Rayon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rayon a male name?
Yes, 98.0% of people registered as Rayon 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 Rayon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rayon 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 Rayon 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 the name Rayon?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Rayon, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.