Recorded 1995–2025 · United States
Rayleigh was most popular in 2022, when 201 American babies were given the name — ranking #2,256 that year. In 2025 it ranked #2,520, with 165 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 3,098 people named Rayleigh.
Rayleigh first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1995, which makes it about 30 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 31 of the 31 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 3,098 American births named Rayleigh between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 3,076 are estimated to be alive today.
165 American babies were named Rayleigh in 2025, ranking #2,520 that year.
Rayleigh is holding steady. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 171 births a year, against 144 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of +19% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Rayleigh is a girl’s name — 96.8% of the 3,098 Americans given it were girls and 3.2% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 94% girls and 6% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 3,076 Americans named Rayleigh are alive today — 99% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 9 years old, and half are between 5 and 14. That is a narrow band because Rayleigh is a young name — it only became common recently, so almost everyone carrying it is still a child or a young adult.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Rayleigh on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org