Rafia

femaleStatistical record

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

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

Rafia: Recorded since 1996, its highest recorded position is #1,646, and it stood at #3,695 in 2024.

1registrar recorded it
25times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#1646highest recorded position
4groupings it qualifies for

England and Wales · Girls

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1646
1997	#3824
1998	#2407
1999	#2770
2000	#3247
2001	#2783
2002	#2868
2003	#1722
2004	#2530
2005	#3382
2006	#2781
2008	#4524
2009	#2759
2010	#2589
2011	#3185
2012	#2969
2013	#5742
2014	#4684
2016	#4096
2017	#4763
2019	#5591
2020	#5493
2022	#3970
2023	#5687
2024	#3695

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 25 of the 29 years from 1996 to 2024.

Official data for England and Wales, 1996–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

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
Highest recorded1996–2024
Highest recorded position: #1646 among girls in England and Wales, in 1996 (recorded 1996–2024).
England and Wales · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #3695 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Rafia by decade in England and Wales · Girls

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 Rafia in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	24	4 of 10	6
2000sbusiest	56	9 of 10	6
2010s	43	8 of 10	5
2020s	17	4 of 10	4

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2000s were its busiest decade — the 9 years of it this list covers, averaging 6 births a year.

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

Rafia appears in

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

Popularity data

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #1646 in England and Wales in 1996.

Rafia'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	#3695	6	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#5687	3	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#3970	5	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#5493	3	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#5591	3	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#4763	4	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#4096	5	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#4684	4	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#5742	3	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#2969	8	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#3185	7	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#2589	9	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#2759	8	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#4524	4	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#2781	7	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#3382	5	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#2530	7	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#1722	11	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#2868	5	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#2783	5	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#3247	4	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#2770	5	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#2407	6	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#3824	3	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#1646	10	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics

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

What the record shows

Recorded by 1 registrar between 1996 and 2024, ranked in 25 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #1,646, first reached in 1996.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 11 births, registered in England and Wales in 2003.

Its record falls into 5 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

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.

4decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 4 decades →
11 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years10 to 19 unbroken years →
5separate stretches the record falls into5 separate stretches →
1 yearlongest absence inside the recorded periodA single year missing →
#3,695position in 2024, its most recent recorded year
11births registered in its largest year, 2003Under 25 births →

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.

Raffy · #1053, 11y
Rafi · #535, 29y
Raghad · #689, 21y
Raghav · #1108, 27y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 1 registrar, 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.

Haseena · #1646, 24y
Sumaira · #1646, 26y
Bray · #1649, 26y
Nahom · #1643, 25y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

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

Haseena · #1646, 24y
Sumaira · #1646, 26y
Bray · #1649, 26y
Nahom · #1643, 25y

Rafia 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 Rafia without appearing here.

Rafia moved ahead of

Cheryl Compare
In 2023 they stood at #5687 and #5687 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #3695 and #5891.
Donna Compare
In 2023 they stood at #5687 and #5687 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #3695 and #5891.
Geraldine Compare
In 2023 they stood at #5687 and #4709 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #3695 and #5891.
Kirsten Compare
In 2023 they stood at #5687 and #4056 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #3695 and #5891.

Moved ahead of Rafia

Luca Compare
In 2012 they stood at #2969 and #3285 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2013 that had become #5742 and #2649.
Dylan Compare
In 2007 they stood at #2781 and #3548 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2008 that had become #4524 and #1516.
Meabh Compare
In 2012 they stood at #2969 and #5876 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2013 that had become #5742 and #2887.
Mona Compare
In 1996 they stood at #1646 and #1755 in England and Wales · Girls; by 1997 that had become #3824 and #1287.

Moved the opposite way to Rafia

Ada Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Rafia went from #1646 to #3695 while Ada went from #2683 to #40.
Alma Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Rafia went from #1646 to #3695 while Alma went from #2096 to #234.
Alyssa Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Rafia went from #1646 to #3695 while Alyssa went from #783 to #285.
Amalie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Rafia went from #1646 to #3695 while Amalie went from #2096 to #1128.

Moved the same way as Rafia

Abigail Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Rafia went from #1646 to #3695 and Abigail from #21 to #154.
Aimee Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Rafia went from #1646 to #3695 and Aimee from #70 to #1603.
Aisling Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Rafia went from #1646 to #3695 and Aisling from #440 to #2000.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Rafia went from #1646 to #3695 and Alex from #161 to #2253.

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.

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #1646 in England and Wales in 1996. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Rafia

Rafia at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Rafia by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Rafia 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

Rafia and the names beside it

Rafia moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Rafia

Moved the opposite way to Rafia

Moved the same way as Rafia

Rafia at a glance

Rafia by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Rafia appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Rafia and the names beside it

Rafia moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Rafia

Moved the opposite way to Rafia

Moved the same way as Rafia