Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Ray?
Births per year, rank history and how many Rays are alive today.
Ray (male) is a shortened form of the name Raymond. Although Ray itself was given to 64 babies in England and Wales in 2025 (ranked 602nd as a registered name), most Rays are registered as Raymond, which ranked 627th in 2025 with 59 babies.
Most people called Ray are registered as Raymond, and share that name's profile: the Raymond you are most likely to meet is around 79 years old. Half of all Raymonds born in England and Wales are between 61 and 81, and there are at least 100,000 of them alive today. Only some Raymonds go by Ray.
How many babies are named Ray or Raymond each year?
Combined registrations of Raymond, Ray. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Raymond rank as a registered name?
Where does Ray rank as a registered name?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
Is Ray short for Raymond?
Yes - Ray is a shortened form of Raymond. Rays are usually registered as Raymond at birth.
When was the name Ray most popular?
The full name Raymond peaked in 1944, when around 4,300 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Ray itself peaked as a registered name in 2019, with 95 babies.
How many people are called Ray?
There's no official count of people who go by Ray, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 100,000 people registered as Raymond born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Ray.
How old is the typical Ray?
Most people called Ray are registered as Raymond. Most living Raymonds are between 61 and 81; the most common age is about 79.
Is Ray becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1944 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.