Male name
Ray
1,482 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 2019. Expression number: 8.
Origin
As an English surname, from pet forms derived from the root of Raymond. Also as an English surname, from Old French rei (“king”). Compare Roy, King. Also as an English surname, from Old English rā (“roe deer”). Compare Roe. Also as an English surname, variant of Wray and Rye. As a Scottish Gaelic surname, shortened from McRae. As a French surname, from the verb raier (“to gush out, flow, radiate”). Compare Leray. As a Polish and Slovene surname, Americanized from Raj, from raj (“paradise”). As an Indian surname, variant of Rai.From Wiktionary, entry “Ray”, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Do you know a Ray?
Send them the page about their name.
How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 2019: 98 births. 1,482 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 2010s and 2020s. It is given to girls (4%) as well as boys (96%). It really came into use around 2004. It is still given: 393 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the United States
Peak in 1926: 3,529 births. 210,307 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given steadily, decade after decade, from the 1910s to the 1960s. At its peak, it ranked 49th among boys' names in 1891. It is still given: 1,724 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
In Ireland
Peak in 2024: 8 births. 113 births from 1964 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 2010s and 2020s. It is still given: 23 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Central Statistics Office, Irish Babies' Names, CC BY 4.0.
Elsewhere in the world
The name in the birth records of the 10 countries we track. The period covered varies from country to country.
| Country | Births | Period | Best rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 250* | 1915–2025 | — |
| Berlin | 95 | 2012–2023 | — |
* These are the people living in the country, counted by year of birth, not the number of births.
Source: Federal Statistical Office, First names of the population by year of birth, free use with attribution; Open Data Berlin, Häufige Vornamen, CC BY 3.0 DE (every name a child carries, not only the first).
The numbers of the name
Each letter has a value: A = 1, B = 2… I = 9, then J = 1 again (Pythagorean method). We add them up, then reduce to a single digit, except 11, 22 and 33.
■ vowel · ■ consonant
Expression
All the letters: talents, the way you act.
8
power, achievement, your relationship with money
9 + 1 + 7 = 17 → 8
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
1
initiative, independence, beginnings
1 = 1
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
7
reflection, inner life, seeking
9 + 7 = 16 → 7
- Digits missing from the name
- 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8
- Most frequent digit
- 1 · initiative, independence, beginnings
The meaning of the numbers comes from numerological tradition; it isn't a measure of your personality. A full portrait needs your first and middle names, your last name at birth, and your date of birth. How we calculate
Your name and theirs
The number of each name, and the number of the bond, which comes from adding them together. A symbolic game: what your two names say together, to be read as a metaphor, not as a verdict on your relationship.