first name
RAY
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 107,593 people named Ray, 61.5% reported their origin as White, 15.4% as Hispanic or Latino and 14.5% as Black. 98.2% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Ray peaked in 1926, when 3,529 babies got the name.
At least 210,307 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Ray by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1920s, when it ranked #149. The largest share of babies named Ray, 26.9%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Ray is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Ray has been most common in West Virginia (2.1×), Arkansas (2.1×), and Oklahoma (2×), and least common in Rhode Island (0.06×).
193,006 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Ray
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Ray, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Ray ranks #219 of 156,621, with 130,289 people. See Ray as a last name
Compare
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