Rae

Rae: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “ewe”
Origin: English
Say it: RAY · 1 syllable
Used for: Girls (96% of all uses)

Rae is an English surname and given-name form related to Ray or Rae. As a feminine middle-name style, it is also often used as a variant of Ray or short form of Rachel in some cases.

English names Names meaning animal Short names Surname-style names

How popular is Rae?

202459.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Rae in 2024195

2024 rank#1,259 girls

Peak year1895

Total US babies since 188024,242

Rae is rising: use over the last five years is 3.1× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Rae

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Raycounsel · English
Reyking · Spanish
Oliviaolive tree · English
Evelyndesired; little bird · English
Harperharp player · English
Violetviolet flower · English
Hazelhazel tree · English
Ellieshort form of names ending in -el or -ella · English

Rae questions

What does the name Rae mean?

Rae means "ewe". It comes from English. Rae is an English surname and given-name form related to Ray or Rae. As a feminine middle-name style, it is also often used as a variant of Ray or short form of Rachel in some cases.

Is Rae a boy or girl name?

Rae is mainly a girl's name in US records (96% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Rae?

195 US babies were named Rae in 2024. Its peak year was 1895.

How do you pronounce Rae?

Rae is usually pronounced RAY.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.