Ray

maleStatistical record

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

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

Ray: Recorded since 1967, it reached #251 in 1970, and it stood at #676 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
74times a registrar ranked it
59years from first to last
#251highest recorded position
17groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among girls in England and Wales · 1997–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1997	#3174
2011	#5785
2016	#5785
2017	#3583
2019	#5591
2020	#3899
2021	#3961
2022	#2888
2023	#2927
2024	#2000

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

RisingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 27 of the 59 years from 1967 to 2025.

In 2024: #404 among boys in Scotland, #430 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #613 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1967–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1967
First recorded at #265 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1967 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1967–2025
Highest recorded position: #251 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1970 (recorded 1967–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #676 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Boys

Ray appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, with 29 ranked years and 1,354 births registered; the earliest is Republic of Ireland · Boys, from 1967.

Ray across 4 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.

Ray'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
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#265 (1967)	#251 (1970)	#676 (2025)	27 of 59	113 (1967–2025)	8 (2024)
England and Wales · Boys	#938 (1996)	#429 (2019)	#613 (2024)	29 of 29	1,354 (1996–2024)	95 (2019)
England and Wales · Girls	#3174 (1997)	#2000 (2024)	#2000 (2024)	10 of 28	59 (1997–2024)	14 (2024)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#390 (2009)	#295 (2021)	#395 (2023)	7 of 15	25 (2009–2023)	6 (2021)

Ray 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 Ray in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	58	4 of 10	15
2000s	281	10 of 10	28
2010s	665	10 of 10	67
2020sbusiest	350	5 of 10	70

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 70 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2013 and 2014, when recorded births rose by 44, from 31 to 75.

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

Ray 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 4 regions, from 1967 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #251 in Republic of Ireland in 1970.

Ray'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	#2000	14	High	Verified
2024	England and Wales	male	#613	62	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#2927	8	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#539	71	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#2888	8	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#528	74	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#3961	5	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#487	82	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#3899	5	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#587	61	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#5591	3	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#429	95	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#520	75	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#3583	6	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#483	84	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#5785	3	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#459	88	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#526	73	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#513	75	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#931	31	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#592	59	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#5785	3	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#781	39	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#678	46	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#654	48	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#668	45	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#638	45	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#885	27	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#919	24	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#906	23	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1092	16	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1033	16	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#910	18	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#848	19	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#973	15	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#1000	14	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#3174	4	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#1010	14	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#938	15	High	Verified
2023	Northern Ireland	male	#395	3	High	Verified
2021	Northern Ireland	male	#295	6	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	male	#418	3	High	Verified
2018	Northern Ireland	male	#365	4	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	male	#415	3	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	male	#398	3	High	Verified
2009	Northern Ireland	male	#390	3	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	male	#676	4	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	male	#430	8	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	male	#770	3	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	male	#572	5	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	male	#755	3	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	male	#741	3	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	male	#749	3	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#610	4	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	male	#459	7	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	male	#508	6	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#534	5	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#540	5	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#611	4	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#701	3	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#390	5	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#393	4	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	male	#409	3	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	male	#267	5	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#303	3	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#283	4	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	male	#318	3	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#264	5	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#288	4	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#321	3	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#304	3	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#251	5	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	male	#265	3	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	male	#404	8	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
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 4 registrars between 1967 and 2025, ranked in 40 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #251, first reached in 1970.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 95 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 8 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 4 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 57 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.

Rawdah · #3015, 16y
Rawen · #1825, 13y
Raya · #70, 30y
Rayaan · #388, 25y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 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.

Alec · #249, 42y
Arman · #249, 38y
Deividas · #249, 42y
Hiba · #254, 40y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Honora · #251, 20y
Sabina · #251, 60y
Angelo · #250, 32y
Breeda · #252, 19y

Ray was ranked #251 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1970. 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.

Ray 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 Ray without appearing here.

Ray moved ahead of

Hayden Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2927 and #2346 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #2000 and #5891.
Teddy Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2927 and #2689 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #2000 and #5891.
Cameron Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2927 and #2201 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #2000 and #4843.
Tove Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2927 and #2927 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #2000 and #4843.

Moved ahead of Ray

Amalie Compare
In 2010 they stood at #3174 and #3824 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #5785 and #692.
Blake Compare
In 2010 they stood at #3174 and #3824 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #5785 and #2893.
Ezra Compare
In 2010 they stood at #3174 and #3824 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #5785 and #3185.
Magnus Compare
In 2012 they stood at #592 and #625 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2013 that had become #931 and #565.

Moved the opposite way to Ray

Adam Compare
Between 1967 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ray went from #265 to #676 while Adam went from #245 to #20.
Alexander Compare
Between 1967 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ray went from #265 to #676 while Alexander went from #137 to #55.
Arthur Compare
Between 1967 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ray went from #265 to #676 while Arthur went from #110 to #57.
Cian Compare
Between 1967 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ray went from #265 to #676 while Cian went from #187 to #33.

Moved the same way as Ray

Adrian Compare
Between 1967 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ray went from #265 to #676 and Adrian from #65 to #348.
Alan Compare
Between 1967 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ray went from #265 to #676 and Alan from #20 to #232.
Andreas Compare
Between 1967 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ray went from #265 to #676 and Andreas from #265 to #829.
Andrew Compare
Between 1967 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ray went from #265 to #676 and Andrew from #33 to #106.

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 4 regions, from 1967 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #251 in Republic of Ireland in 1970. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Ray

Ray at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Ray across 4 official records

Ray by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Ray appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Ray

Ray and the names beside it

Ray moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ray

Moved the opposite way to Ray

Moved the same way as Ray

Ray at a glance

Ray across 4 official records

Ray by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Ray appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Ray

Ray and the names beside it

Ray moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ray

Moved the opposite way to Ray

Moved the same way as Ray