Rainey
Rainey was given to 76 girls in 2025, #2,376 among girls’ names; 2,632 Americans have been recorded with it since 1901 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,340 Americans named Rainey and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (89% of everyone recorded); the median is 20 years old and half are between 8 and 33.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Rainey by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Rainey mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Rainey is “a female given name.” Its etymology gives the sense “descendant of Raighne” (Raighne).
Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Raighne (“descendant of Raighne”), a Gaelicized form of the Old Norse personal name Rognvaldr.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Rainey?
#2,376 among girls’ names, 2025
Rainey rose from #3,583 in 2015 to #2,376 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 24.6 to 47.3 per million.
90 babies in 2022, the peak
Rainey peaked in 2022, when 90 girls were given it, #2,137 among girls’ names. The 76 births of 2025 are 84% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 76 | #2,376 | under 5 | |
| 2024 | 78 | #2,359 | 6 | #12,014 |
| 2023 | 75 | #2,411 | under 5 | |
| 2022 | 90 | #2,137 | under 5 | |
| 2021 | 82 | #2,262 | under 5 | |
| 2020 | 74 | #2,393 | under 5 | |
| 2019 | 58 | #2,883 | 6 | #11,807 |
| 2018 | 50 | #3,235 | under 5 | |
| 2017 | 62 | #2,771 | under 5 | |
| 2016 | 60 | #2,855 | under 5 |
Every recorded year (103)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 44 | #3,583 | under 5 | |
| 2014 | 45 | #3,528 | 5 | #13,576 |
| 2013 | 48 | #3,357 | under 5 | |
| 2012 | 41 | #3,839 | under 5 | |
| 2011 | 40 | #3,823 | under 5 | |
| 2010 | 50 | #3,293 | under 5 | |
| 2009 | 50 | #3,342 | under 5 | |
| 2008 | 63 | #2,850 | under 5 | |
| 2007 | 48 | #3,460 | under 5 | |
| 2006 | 35 | #4,239 | under 5 | |
| 2005 | 48 | #3,246 | under 5 | |
| 2004 | 39 | #3,730 | 6 | #11,009 |
| 2003 | 47 | #3,170 | 7 | #9,376 |
| 2002 | 51 | #2,926 | under 5 | |
| 2001 | 37 | #3,615 | 8 | #8,128 |
| 2000 | 55 | #2,694 | under 5 | |
| 1999 | 31 | #3,864 | 9 | #6,957 |
| 1998 | 41 | #3,099 | 5 | #10,905 |
| 1997 | 38 | #3,138 | under 5 | |
| 1996 | 46 | #2,701 | 8 | #6,953 |
| 1995 | 39 | #3,002 | 6 | #8,616 |
| 1994 | 34 | #3,354 | 6 | #8,547 |
| 1993 | 24 | #4,340 | 5 | #9,815 |
| 1992 | 24 | #4,339 | 7 | #7,211 |
| 1991 | 39 | #2,971 | 5 | #9,266 |
| 1990 | 30 | #3,598 | under 5 | |
| 1989 | 30 | #3,452 | under 5 | |
| 1988 | 16 | #5,243 | 6 | #7,035 |
| 1987 | 22 | #3,946 | 5 | #7,847 |
| 1986 | 19 | #4,299 | under 5 | |
| 1985 | 7 | #9,016 | under 5 | |
| 1984 | 13 | #5,454 | under 5 | |
| 1983 | 13 | #5,371 | 5 | #7,042 |
| 1982 | 11 | #6,243 | under 5 | |
| 1981 | 17 | #4,476 | under 5 | |
| 1980 | 21 | #3,807 | under 5 | |
| 1979 | 14 | #5,023 | under 5 | |
| 1978 | 18 | #4,031 | 5 | #6,534 |
| 1977 | 14 | #4,853 | under 5 | |
| 1976 | 16 | #4,105 | under 5 | |
| 1975 | 15 | #4,299 | under 5 | |
| 1974 | 18 | #3,657 | under 5 | |
| 1973 | 8 | #6,500 | under 5 | |
| 1972 | 9 | #5,806 | 6 | #4,842 |
| 1971 | 8 | #6,438 | under 5 | |
| 1970 | 14 | #4,191 | 6 | #4,602 |
| 1969 | 7 | #6,425 | 5 | #4,866 |
| 1968 | 6 | #6,803 | 7 | #3,602 |
| 1967 | 6 | #6,591 | 6 | #3,870 |
| 1966 | 7 | #5,670 | 5 | #4,391 |
| 1965 | 9 | #4,747 | under 5 | |
| 1964 | 6 | #6,581 | 5 | #4,477 |
| 1963 | under 5 | 6 | #3,934 | |
| 1962 | 5 | #7,331 | 7 | #3,554 |
| 1960 | 5 | #7,085 | 6 | #3,962 |
| 1959 | 9 | #4,547 | 5 | #4,433 |
| 1958 | 11 | #3,878 | 10 | #2,775 |
| 1957 | under 5 | 7 | #3,485 | |
| 1956 | under 5 | 9 | #2,920 | |
| 1951 | 6 | #5,280 | 9 | #2,811 |
| 1950 | under 5 | 13 | #2,180 | |
| 1947 | under 5 | 5 | #4,146 | |
| 1946 | under 5 | 9 | #2,655 | |
| 1944 | under 5 | 9 | #2,595 | |
| 1942 | under 5 | 5 | #3,940 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 9 | #2,633 | |
| 1939 | under 5 | 6 | #3,402 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 9 | #2,610 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 6 | #3,456 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 6 | #3,569 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 9 | #2,706 | |
| 1933 | under 5 | 6 | #3,554 | |
| 1932 | under 5 | 5 | #4,162 | |
| 1931 | under 5 | 5 | #4,204 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 6 | #3,909 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 11 | #2,563 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 5 | #4,605 | |
| 1927 | under 5 | 6 | #4,099 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 5 | #4,687 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 6 | #4,095 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 8 | #3,441 | |
| 1923 | under 5 | 7 | #3,739 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 11 | #2,765 | |
| 1920 | 5 | #5,616 | 12 | #2,574 |
| 1919 | under 5 | 7 | #3,672 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 6 | #4,074 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 5 | #4,446 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 10 | #2,690 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 7 | #3,327 | |
| 1914 | 5 | #4,081 | 7 | #2,850 |
| 1913 | under 5 | 10 | #1,912 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 5 | #1,501 | |
| 1901 | under 5 | 5 | #1,173 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Rainey a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 2,632 Americans recorded as Rainey, 83% are girls and 17% boys. In 2025 it went to 76 girls; SSA lists no boys with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Rainey: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Rainey, and how old are they?
2,340 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 89% of the 2,632 Americans ever recorded as Rainey. The median Rainey alive today is 20 years old; half are between 8 and 33.
The 2020 Census counted 1,900 people named Rainey (1,596 women and girls, 304 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,919 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 16 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 95 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 212 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 425 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 741 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 854 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Rainey born?
The states with the most babies named Rainey are Texas, Missouri and Washington, with 83% of its births recorded by state in 2025; Missouri and Washington are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 12 | #1,883 | 1.1× |
| Missouri | 6 | #903 | 0.2× |
| Washington | 6 | #1,019 | 0.1× |
| Arizona | 5 | #1,180 | 0.2× |
Where Rainey is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Rainey is most over-represented in Texas: since 1910 it was given 1.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Rainey with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 33,482 babies since 1880, Rainey is the fourth most given (7.9% of them). In 2025 it was given to 76 of their 946 babies (8.0%), again the fourth most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Rainey
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
| Name | Recorded | 1900-2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Laine | 6,113 |
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Rainey and names like it
- Compare Rainey and RainaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sRainey peaked in 2022.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Rainey since 1910.
- The top names of 2022The year the most babies were named Rainey.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Rainey alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with RMost given first.