Girls' name · since 1880

Rae

Rae has 23,460 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1956 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#955 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#1,299 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
23,460
born since 1880
1950s
peak decade

Yes -- Rae is the #1299 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 23,460 recorded since 1880.

Rae has 23,460 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1299 as of the latest data, more common than 92% of girls, busiest in the 1950s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.

  • #955 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #1,299 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 23,460 born since 1880
  • 1950s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Rae ranks #955 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,299 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 23,460 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.

#955 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#1,299 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
23,460
born since 1880
1950s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%92.4%
Rae vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Rae's 23,460 recorded births place it above 98.67% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

47 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

47 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.

How Rae compares

23,460 Top 6% higher than 94% of 17,297 names currently given to girls

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Rae's all-time total is 62x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Rae Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 23,460 376 567,345
Peak-year births 406 21 19,840

Rae's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Rae splits its recorded history at 1953: 53% of all births land in the more recent half, 47% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1881 (7 births) -- compare that against the 1956 peak of 406 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Rae popularity over time - girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1956)
406
Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
0100200300400500 188018991918193719561975199420132025 171

Rae popularity over time - boys

960 total births recorded since 1894 (Rae as boys' name)

Unisex variant - 960 births
051015202530 189419191931194319551967199420122025 5

Rae by decade

1950s is the heaviest window (3,456 births, 15% of the file).

1950s was Rae's strongest decade.

3,456 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 15% of all-time use.

Rae births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1950s at 3,456 births (15% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Rae compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Rae's total volume

Rae vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%2%4%6%8%10% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -121, 5.8%-144, 3.9%-80, 3%-81, 3.9%-109, 2.9%-146, 9.5%-67, 7.1%-127, 7.1%-102, 4.9%-127, 1.8%-43, 4.6%-112, 7.8%-127, 4.9%-111, 2.2%-81, 3.4%Rae-146, 1.7%Rae
Rae vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Rae by state

Where Rae concentrates geographically, total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Rae
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
2,269 9.7%
#2 California
1,958 8.3%
#3 Pennsylvania
1,413 6.0%
#4 Ohio
1,195 5.1%
#5 Illinois
1,129 4.8%
#6 Texas
1,047 4.5%
#7 Michigan
678 2.9%
#8 New Jersey
583 2.5%
New York share of Rae's total US births 9.7%
Even split

2,269 of 23,460 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 47 reporting states.

Rae appears in 47 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Rae? ▼
23,460 babies have been named Rae since 1880. All-time, it sits at #955 of 72,339 girls' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #1,299 of 17,297 among girls. The peak year was 1956 with 406 births.
Where does Rae sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Rae ranks #955 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,299 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Rae most popular? ▼
Rae was most popular in the 1950s decade with 3,456 total births. The single peak year was 1956.
Where is Rae most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Rae are New York (2,269 births), California (1,958 births), Pennsylvania (1,413 births).
How long has the name Rae been used? ▼
Rae has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 146 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Rae? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Raelynn, Raegan, Raelyn, Raeann, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Rae's data

  • Rae's usage has stayed within range of its 1950s decade-level peak (3,456 total births) through the 2020s (1,235) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
  • New York records the most Raes (2,269 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Rae

Nearby Names Like Rae

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Rae

Raelynn Girl
#116 34,671 births
Raegan Girl
#506 25,214 births
Raelyn Girl
#502 15,768 births
Raeann Girl
#5586 3,915 births
Raelene Girl
#13364 2,451 births

Compare Rae side by side: Rae vs Raelynn Rae vs Raegan Rae vs Raelyn

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Rae

Laynie #1298
2,279 births · Peak 2025
Althea #1300
17,980 births · Peak 1956
Devyn #1297
9,422 births · Peak 2000
Tabitha #1301
59,200 births · Peak 1978
Rori #1296
3,301 births · Peak 2022
Blossom #1302
3,422 births · Peak 2025
Patience #1295
12,425 births · Peak 2006
Sonia #1303
66,747 births · Peak 1970

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Rae: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Rae draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.