boy's name
Ray
RAY
- Origin Germanic
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 3
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 213,056
the United States
#792
2025 births
Ray is a boy's name that serves as a short form of Raymond and as the English word for a beam of light. Our data marks it stable, and it charts in five markets with Scotland strongest at 419th.
- Ray is a name of Germanic origin.
- Peaked in 1926, when 3,529 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 9,809 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Ray over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 2,564 |
| 1890s | 4,127 |
| 1900s | 4,630 |
| 1910s | 18,825 |
| 1920s | 33,190 |
| 1930s | 30,880 |
| 1940s | 30,087 |
| 1950s | 30,345 |
| 1960s | 22,465 |
| 1970s | 10,277 |
| 1980s | 7,947 |
| 1990s | 5,465 |
| 2000s | 3,934 |
| 2010s | 3,482 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,089 |
What Ray means
Ray means protecting counsel if taken from Raymond, or a beam of light if taken as the English word. The two are unrelated and both are in genuine use.
Where Ray comes from
Ray shortens Raymond, from the Germanic Raginmund — ragin, counsel, joined to mund, protection. Separately it is the English word for a beam of light, from the Latin radius, a spoke or ray, and it is used as a name in that sense too, alongside Dawn and Star. A third source exists in the surname Ray, from the Norman rey, a king, or from a Middle English word for a female roe deer. Ray Charles was born Ray Charles Robinson and dropped the surname to avoid confusion with the boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.
Ray in use
Ray peaked in the United States in 1926, when 3,529 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 419th in Scotland on 8 births, 604th in England and Wales on 69, 765th in Ireland, 792nd in the United States on 338 and 6064th in France, across 213,056 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. About 3 percent of recorded births are female.
How popular is Ray?
In 2025, Ray was given to 338 babies in the United States, ranking #792 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Ray is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Ray
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ray also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ray over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Ray in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Ray
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ray — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ray
What does the name Ray mean?
Protecting counsel through Raymond, or a beam of light as the English word. Both are in use.
Is Ray short for Raymond?
Usually, though it is widely registered as a full name and also used as the word for a light beam.
Was Ray Charles his real name?
He was born Ray Charles Robinson and dropped the surname to avoid confusion with Sugar Ray Robinson.
How popular is Ray?
792nd in the United States and 419th in Scotland.
Is Ray a girl's or a boy's name?
Ray is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Ray?
Ray has 1 syllable.
Is Ray a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ray currently ranks #419 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.