9BabyNames Baby names with meanings & US popularity data

Rae

Pronunciation
[Rae]
Gender
Female
Meaning
Doe
Origin
English
Rae is a feminine form of Ray, which means "wise protection".

Rae Popularity Snapshot

Across the entire US Social Security Administration record (1880–2024), 23,287 baby girls have been named Rae. The name peaked in 1956 with 406 US births that year (rank #455). In 2024, ranked #1265 nationally — 810 places below its 1956 peak.

Top States for Rae

Based on 1910–2024 US SSA state-level records, the three states with the most Rae births are: New York (2,256), California (1,914), Pennsylvania (1,398).

Other English-Origin Names Like Rae

If you like Rae's English origin, consider these related names: Aaric, Aarika, Aarshiya, Aase, Aasiya. Browse all English names →

3-Letter Names Starting with R

Names with Rae's exact length and starting letter: Rad, Rai, Raj, Ram, Ran.

Quick Facts About Rae

5,642
English baby names in our dictionary
2,251
English female names
24
3-letter R-names in our dictionary
259
R-female names total
Not in registry
US SSA records — name appears fewer than 5 times in any year

Where in the US Is Rae Most Popular?

Average girl-name rank within each state across 2016–2025 SSA records. A lower number means the name appears closer to the top of that state's girls-name rankings — a per-capita measure that isn't biased toward large states. For Rae the strongest states are Utah, Oregon, Massachusetts.

Strongest girls-name states

# State Avg rank Births
1 Utah #540 62
2 Oregon #695 21
3 Massachusetts #701 31
4 Minnesota #705 39
5 Colorado #709 40
6 Arizona #755 46
7 Washington #837 51
8 New York #879 55
9 Missouri #925 24
10 Wisconsin #947 25

Weakest girls-name states

# State Avg rank Births
1 California #953 95
2 Wisconsin #947 25
3 Missouri #925 24
4 New York #879 55
5 Washington #837 51
6 Arizona #755 46
7 Colorado #709 40
8 Minnesota #705 39
9 Massachusetts #701 31
10 Oregon #695 21

Source: SSA state-level baby-name dataset 2016–2025. States with fewer than 3 years of data for Rae in this window are excluded. Births < 5 in a given state-year are suppressed by SSA for privacy.

Variant Forms

NameMeaningGenderOrigin
Raelynn Female English
Ray Regal Male French

Looking for names like Rae?

A dedicated page with 60+ related names — spelling variants, rhymes, alliterations, same-origin matches, and shared meaning concepts — lives at its own URL so each kind of similarity gets a deeper treatment than fits here.

See all names like Rae →

Compare Rae to Other Popular Names

Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Rae against today's most popular girls-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).

Compare to a different name →

Rae Baby Name Ideas