Rayona
Beautiful woman of mystery and excitement.
Name Census estimates that about 354 living Americans carry the first name Rayona. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rayona today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rayona births was 2000 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rayona. 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
354
~ 1 in 968,233 Americans
Peak year
2000
28 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,156
Tracked since 1928
Census
Rayona in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 381 people with the first name Rayona, which placed it at #25,037 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
#25,037
National first-name rank
People counted
381
381 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
58.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rayona
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rayona is Black at 58.3%. The next largest groups are White (23.1%) and Two or More Races (7.3%). 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 Rayona 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 Rayona at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American58.3% · 222
- White23.1% · 88
- Two or more races7.3% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.9% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 9
Popularity
Rayona: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rayona from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 181 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rayona 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 Rayona during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rayonas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rayona
The name Rayona is believed to have originated in the ancient Sumerian civilization, which flourished in the region of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3500 BCE. It is derived from the Sumerian word "ra-yu-na," which roughly translates to "radiant one" or "luminous being."
During the height of the Sumerian civilization, Rayona was a popular name among the noble and priestly classes. It was often associated with the worship of the sun deity, Utu, and was seen as a symbol of divine light and enlightenment. The name can be found inscribed on several ancient clay tablets and cuneiform writings from this period.
As the Sumerian culture gave way to the Babylonian and Assyrian empires, the name Rayona gradually spread throughout the ancient Near East. It appeared in various forms and spellings, such as "Ra'yona," "Rayuna," and "Raiuna," in the religious texts and historical records of these civilizations.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Rayona was a high priestess of the moon goddess Nanna in the city of Ur, around 2200 BCE. Her name was inscribed on a stone tablet that detailed her role in the construction of a temple dedicated to the deity.
In the 6th century BCE, a Babylonian woman named Rayona gained notoriety as a skilled astrologer and advisor to King Nebuchadnezzar II. She was renowned for her accurate predictions and is mentioned in several historical accounts of the time.
During the classical era, a Greek philosopher named Rayona of Cyrene (c. 350 BCE - c. 275 BCE) made significant contributions to the Cyrenaic school of philosophy, which focused on the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good. Her teachings and writings were widely studied and debated in the ancient world.
In the Middle Ages, Rayona was a relatively uncommon name, but it did appear in various European regions. One notable figure was Rayona of Arles (c. 1050 - c. 1120), a French noblewoman and patron of the arts, who commissioned the construction of several churches and monasteries in the Provence region of France.
During the Renaissance period, an Italian poetess named Rayona Gasparina (c. 1453 - c. 1509) gained fame for her lyrical works and was celebrated as one of the most accomplished female writers of her time. Her poetry collection, "Rime e Canzoni," was widely circulated and admired across Italy.
While the name Rayona has ancient roots and a rich history, it has remained relatively uncommon in modern times, especially in Western cultures. However, its unique sound and intriguing origins may continue to inspire parents seeking distinctive and meaningful names for their children.
People
Rayona + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rayona 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
Rayona: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rayona?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 354 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rayona 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 968,233 US residents.
Is Rayona a common name?
We classify Rayona as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 370 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rayona most popular?
The single biggest year for Rayona was 2000, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rayona 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 Rayona in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 381 people with the name Rayona, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,037 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 Rayona 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 Rayona?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rayona appears almost entirely female. Of the 380 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Rayona?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rayona is Black at 58.3%. The next largest groups are White (23.1%) and Two or More Races (7.3%). 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 Rayona most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Rayona in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.3% (222 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 Rayona in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rayona a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rayona 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 Rayona still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rayona 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 Rayona 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 Rayona?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.