Rafa

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Rafa: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Rafa: Recorded since 1999, it reached #755 in 2021, and it stood at #1,951 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
24times a registrar ranked it
26years from first to last
#755highest recorded position
6groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1999–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1999	#3900
2003	#4373
2006	#3116
2009	#4564
2013	#5742
2014	#5691
2018	#4684
2019	#4686
2024	#4843

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in England and Wales in 9 of the 26 years from 1999 to 2024.

In 2021: #755 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #2125 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1999–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1999
First recorded at #3900 among girls in England and Wales in 1999 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #4843 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Rafa appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, with 14 ranked years and 101 births registered; the earliest is England and Wales · Girls, from 1999.

Rafa across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Rafa's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
England and Wales · Girls	#3900 (1999)	#3116 (2006)	#4843 (2024)	9 of 26	34 (1999–2024)	6 (2006)
England and Wales · Boys	#3865 (2010)	#1869 (2019)	#1951 (2024)	14 of 15	101 (2010–2024)	12 (2019)

Rafa appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1999 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #755 in Republic of Ireland in 2021.

Rafa's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#4843	4	High	Verified
2024	England and Wales	male	#1951	12	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#2160	10	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#2529	8	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#2125	10	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#1935	11	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#4686	4	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#1869	12	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#4684	4	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#3011	6	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#3996	4	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#3478	5	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#2707	7	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#5691	3	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#4632	3	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#5742	3	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#3315	5	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#3830	4	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#3865	4	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#4564	4	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#3116	6	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#4373	3	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#3900	3	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	male	#755	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1999 and 2024, ranked in 18 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #755, first reached in 2021.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 12 births, registered in England and Wales in 2019.

1 registrar publishes it in more than one category list, holding a place in each for at least five years — an observation about those lists rather than about the name.

Its record falls into 5 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 3 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2021, and 22 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Raewyn · #25, 19y
Raeya · #671, 19y
Rafael · #181, 53y
Rafaela · #871, 25y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Alvi · #755, 15y
Calin · #755, 15y
Kyson · #755, 22y
Rayden · #755, 15y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Donny · #755, 24y
Sania · #756, 29y
Aneurin · #753, 29y
Jameel · #753, 29y

Rafa was ranked #755 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 2021. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Rafa and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Rafa without appearing here.

Rafa moved ahead of

Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2160 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #1951 and #5119.
Daithi Compare
In 2018 they stood at #3011 and #3011 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2019 that had become #1869 and #4702.
Kelly Compare
In 2018 they stood at #3011 and #3011 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2019 that had become #1869 and #4702.
Willow Compare
In 2018 they stood at #3011 and #2445 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2019 that had become #1869 and #4702.

Moved ahead of Rafa

Eabha Compare
In 2008 they stood at #3116 and #5061 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2009 that had become #4564 and #2326.
Francis Compare
In 2012 they stood at #4564 and #5556 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2013 that had become #5742 and #4739.
Rune Compare
In 2020 they stood at #1935 and #2228 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2021 that had become #2125 and #2125.

Moved the opposite way to Rafa

Aaron Compare
Between 2010 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafa went from #3865 to #1951 while Aaron went from #55 to #154.
Alan Compare
Between 2010 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafa went from #3865 to #1951 while Alan went from #205 to #592.
Alex Compare
Between 2010 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafa went from #3865 to #1951 while Alex went from #52 to #171.
Alexander Compare
Between 2010 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafa went from #3865 to #1951 while Alexander went from #21 to #36.

Moved the same way as Rafa

Aksel Compare
Between 2010 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafa went from #3865 to #1951 and Aksel from #3332 to #1132.
Albie Compare
Between 2010 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafa went from #3865 to #1951 and Albie from #288 to #19.
Alfred Compare
Between 2010 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafa went from #3865 to #1951 and Alfred from #154 to #81.
Andrea Compare
Between 2010 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafa went from #3865 to #1951 and Andrea from #3332 to #1859.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1999 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #755 in Republic of Ireland in 2021. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Rafa

Rafa at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Rafa across 2 official records

Rafa appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Rafa

Rafa and the names beside it

Rafa moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Rafa

Moved the opposite way to Rafa

Moved the same way as Rafa

Rafa at a glance

Rafa across 2 official records

Rafa appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Rafa

Rafa and the names beside it

Rafa moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Rafa

Moved the opposite way to Rafa

Moved the same way as Rafa