boy's name
Raymond
RAY-mund
- Origin Germanic
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 1,069,678
the United States
#395
2025 births
Raymond is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning counsel and protection. It peaked in 1924, the earliest peak of any name in this group, and our records carry it across 1,065,841 births in five of the seven markets we track.
- Raymond is a name of Germanic origin.
- Peaked in 1924, when 12,930 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,108 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Raymond 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 | 3,135 |
| 1890s | 7,589 |
| 1900s | 11,688 |
| 1910s | 72,095 |
| 1920s | 124,863 |
| 1930s | 100,065 |
| 1940s | 109,452 |
| 1950s | 109,298 |
| 1960s | 82,235 |
| 1970s | 49,755 |
| 1980s | 41,806 |
| 1990s | 31,838 |
| 2000s | 20,486 |
| 2010s | 13,406 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,600 |
What Raymond means
Raymond means protecting counsel, or wise protector. The Germanic original joins a word for advice or counsel to one meaning protection, so the two halves describe guidance and defense together.
Where Raymond comes from
Raymond comes from the Germanic Raginmund, joining ragin — counsel, advice, and by extension the deciding powers — to mund, meaning protection or the hand that protects. The Normans carried it into England and Spain, where it became Ramón, and it gained particular weight in Catalonia through the counts of Barcelona. Two saints fixed it in Catholic use: Raymond of Peñafort, who codified canon law in the thirteenth century, and Raymond Nonnatus, patron of midwives and the unborn, whose name means not born because he was delivered after his mother's death.
Raymond in use
Raymond peaked in the United States in 1924, when 12,930 babies were registered — the earliest peak of any name in this group, and a full generation before the 1946 to 1957 cluster most of its contemporaries share. It now ranks 395th in the United States on 807 births, 575th in Ireland, 636th in England and Wales and 2158th in France, across 1,069,678 lifetime births, and is falling in our data.
How popular is Raymond?
In 2025, Raymond was given to 807 babies in the United States, ranking #395 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Raymond 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 Raymond
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Raymond also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Raymond over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Raymond
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Raymond 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 Raymond
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Raymond — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Raymond
What does the name Raymond mean?
Protecting counsel — the Germanic ragin, counsel, joined to mund, protection.
Is Raymond the same name as Ramón?
Yes. Ramón is the Spanish form of the same Germanic name, carried into Spain by the Normans.
When was Raymond most popular?
It peaked in 1924 with 12,930 American births — a generation earlier than most names of its cohort.
How popular is Raymond?
395th in the United States and 575th in Ireland.
Is Raymond a girl's or a boy's name?
Raymond is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Raymond?
Raymond has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Raymond?
Raymond is usually shortened to Ray.
Is Raymond a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Raymond currently ranks #395 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.