Raleigh

Raleigh: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “deer's meadow”
Origin: Old English
Say it: RAW-lee · 2 syllables
Used for: Both (24% girls, 76% boys since 1880)

Transferred from the English surname and place name Raleigh, from Old English elements meaning 'roe deer' and 'woodland clearing/meadow'.

English names Names meaning nature Names meaning animal Surname-style names

How popular is Raleigh?

202450.0 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 Raleigh in 2024167

2024 rank#1,907 girls

Peak year1885

Total US babies since 188012,165

Raleigh has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Raleigh

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Oakleyoak clearing · Old English
PeytonPæga's town · Old English
Suttonsouth settlement · Old English
Harleyhare meadow · Old English
Leightonsettlement by a meadow · Old English
Kingsleyking's meadow · Old English
Berkleybirch wood clearing · Old English
Ripleystrip of clearing in the woods · Old English

Raleigh questions

What does the name Raleigh mean?

Raleigh means "deer's meadow". It comes from Old English. Transferred from the English surname and place name Raleigh, from Old English elements meaning 'roe deer' and 'woodland clearing/meadow'.

Is Raleigh a boy or girl name?

Raleigh is used for both: about 24% of US babies named Raleigh since 1880 were girls.

How popular is Raleigh?

167 US babies were named Raleigh in 2024. Its peak year was 1885.

How do you pronounce Raleigh?

Raleigh is usually pronounced RAW-lee.

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.