Rafferty

maleStatistical record

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

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

Rafferty: Recorded every year since 2000, its highest recorded position is #172, and it stood at #221 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
27times a registrar ranked it
25years from first to last
#172highest recorded position
8groupings it qualifies for

Region

Trend unknown

among girls in England and Wales · 2020

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
2020	#4535

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

Trend unknownEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among boys in England and Wales in every year from 2000 to 2024.

In 2024: #221 among boys in England and Wales, #382 among boys in Scotland.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 2000–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded2000
First recorded at #2501 among boys in England and Wales in 2000 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Boys
Highest recorded2000–2024
Highest recorded position: #172 among boys in England and Wales, in 2023 (recorded 2000–2024).
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #221 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Rafferty by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Rafferty in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
2000s	331	10 of 10	33
2010s	1,443	10 of 10	144
2020sbusiest	1,244	5 of 10	249

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 249 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2023 and 2024, when recorded births fell by 76, from 298 to 222.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Rafferty 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 2000 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #172 in England and Wales in 2023.

Rafferty'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	male	#221	222	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#172	298	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#179	285	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#208	255	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#4535	4	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#257	184	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#282	173	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#273	183	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#278	187	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#280	181	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#289	164	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#365	114	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#375	108	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#338	131	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#378	106	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#406	96	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#570	58	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#514	67	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#631	46	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#644	43	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#726	34	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#688	34	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#889	22	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1190	13	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#1379	10	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#2501	4	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	male	#382	9	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

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

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 2000 and 2024, ranked in 25 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #172, first reached in 2023.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 298 births, registered in England and Wales in 2023.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2024, and 24 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.

Raffaele · #1247, 24y
Raffaella · #1687, 22y
Raffi · #727, 21y
Raffy · #1053, 11y

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.

Dearbhail · #174, 29y
Muriel · #179, 26y
Cathair · #164, 27y
Cohan · #163, 25y

Also first recorded in the 2000s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 2000 and 2009.

Selmer · #172, 22y
Claragh · #171, 16y
Wilmer · #174, 18y
Varg · #177, 19y

Rafferty was ranked #172 in England and Wales · Boys in 2023. 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.

Rafferty 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 Rafferty without appearing here.

Rafferty moved ahead of

Mathias Compare
In 2000 they stood at #2501 and #2501 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2001 that had become #1379 and #3134.
Aria Compare
In 2000 they stood at #2501 and #2501 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2001 that had become #1379 and #2587.
Arne Compare
In 2000 they stood at #2501 and #2501 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2001 that had become #1379 and #2587.
Garry Compare
In 2002 they stood at #1190 and #1077 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2003 that had become #889 and #1771.

Moved the opposite way to Rafferty

Aaron Compare
Between 2000 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafferty went from #2501 to #221 while Aaron went from #36 to #154.
Adam Compare
Between 2000 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafferty went from #2501 to #221 while Adam went from #20 to #35.
Alan Compare
Between 2000 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafferty went from #2501 to #221 while Alan went from #262 to #592.
Alex Compare
Between 2000 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafferty went from #2501 to #221 while Alex went from #48 to #171.

Moved the same way as Rafferty

Albie Compare
Between 2000 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafferty went from #2501 to #221 and Albie from #624 to #19.
Alfie Compare
Between 2000 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafferty went from #2501 to #221 and Alfie from #57 to #16.
Alfred Compare
Between 2000 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafferty went from #2501 to #221 and Alfred from #139 to #81.
Archie Compare
Between 2000 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Rafferty went from #2501 to #221 and Archie from #81 to #10.

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 2000 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #172 in England and Wales in 2023. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Rafferty

Rafferty at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Rafferty by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Rafferty appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 2000s

Names published alongside Rafferty

Rafferty and the names beside it

Rafferty moved ahead of

Moved the opposite way to Rafferty

Moved the same way as Rafferty

Rafferty at a glance

Rafferty by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Rafferty appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 2000s

Names published alongside Rafferty

Rafferty and the names beside it

Rafferty moved ahead of

Moved the opposite way to Rafferty

Moved the same way as Rafferty