Rae

What Rae means

Diminutive of Rachel, meaning “ewe”

diminutive of the female given name Rachel || Borrowed from Late Latin Rāchēl, from Ancient Greek Ῥαχήλ (Rhakhḗl), from Biblical Hebrew רָחֵל (rāḫēl, “ewe”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Rae” (revision 94542857) and “Rachel” (revision 94542863), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Rae?

US: Rising: up from #2039 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #708 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1892, when 76 girls got the name (#311 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 9,399 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 2,093 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,491 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in UT (0.53 per 1,000 girls), OR (0.38 per 1,000 girls), AZ (0.28 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Rae is #1299 in the US and #353 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 97.2% of US babies named Rae were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Rey24 US · 11 E&W
• Rei24 US · 3 E&W
• Ray19 US · 5 E&W
• Roe13 US · 3 E&W
• Roa15 US
• Rui10 US
• Rai5 US · 4 E&W
• Roaa5 US · 4 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Rae

Girls

• Blair#169“field, plain”^*
• Kehlani#148Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #148 vs #894 in 2025
• Stevie#203Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #978 in 2015, #203 in 2025
• Blake#295“black”^*
• Rosemary#251“dew of the sea”^*
• Wrenley#158Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #158 vs #1,454 in 2025

For a brother

• Arthur#87possibly “bear”^*
• Wesley#52“west + wood, clearing”^*
• Warren#240“river, water”^*
• Calvin#132“bald”^*
• Theodore#4Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #99 in 2015, #4 in 2025
• Leon#138“lion”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Rae’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.