Namewise

Finlay vs Raphaela

Finlay and Raphaelacompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.

Head to head

Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.

  • England and Wales · Girls

    In 2018, Finlay was ranked #4684 and Raphaela #3518 among girls in England and Wales.

Finlay and Raphaela over time

Finlay and Raphaela appear together in 1 published list, across 16 years of shared records. Raphaela held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Finlay in 0.

The order between them changed and held in one of those lists — a change in that published list, never a claim that one name displaced the other.

Finlay reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 1 of those lists, and Raphaela in none. Each position is a place inside its own list, so this compares when they peaked and never how high.

Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.

List by list

  • England and Wales · Girls16 shared years, 19962018

    Finlay held the stronger position in 6 of those years, Raphaela in 7.

    Highest recorded here: Finlay #853 in 2001, Raphaela #2112 in 2004.

    The order changed in 2005: Raphaela moved ahead. In 2004 they stood at #1952 and #2112; by 2005 that had become #2438 and #2438.

    Most recent shared year, 2018: Finlay #4684, Raphaela #3518.

Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.

Side by side

Side-by-side comparison of Finlay, Raphaela
FieldFinlayRaphaela
Record typeOfficial statistical record (evidence-only)Official statistical record (evidence-only)
Gender usagemalefemale
MeaningNot yet recordedNot yet recorded
OriginNot yet recordedNot yet recorded
PronunciationNot yet recordedNot yet recorded
Syllables23
Common variants / nicknamesNot yet recordedNot yet recorded
Recorded regional usageGB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IEGB-ENW
Most recent popularity observationRepublic of Ireland · Boys #372 (2025)England and Wales · Girls #4192 (2024)
Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score)Not yet recordedNot yet recorded
Spelling simplicity (demonstration score)88/10076/100
International familiarity (demonstration score)100/10040/100
Data Confidencemediummedium

What the data shows

  • Finlay has 2 syllables, compared with 3 for Raphaela.
  • Both names have recorded usage in GB-ENW.

How each name got here

Finlay

Popularity journey

  1. First recorded1996

    First recorded at #1646 among girls in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.

    England and Wales · Girls

  2. Highest recorded2024–2024

    Highest recorded position: #11 among boys in Scotland, in 2024 (recorded 2024–2024).

    Scotland · Boys

  3. Most recent2025

    Most recently recorded at #372 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.

    Republic of Ireland · Boys

Raphaela

Popularity journey

  1. First recorded1996

    First recorded at #3795 among girls in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.

    England and Wales · Girls

  2. Highest recorded1996–2024

    Highest recorded position: #2112 among girls in England and Wales, in 2004 (recorded 1996–2024).

    England and Wales · Girls

  3. Most recent2024

    Most recently recorded at #4192 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.

    England and Wales · Girls