How Many People Are Named Rae?
An estimated 13,479 people in the United States have the first name Rae. It is predominantly female (96.1%). The average bearer is 50 years old, and Rae peaked in popularity in 1956 with 412 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Rae as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Rae paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Rae is overwhelmingly female, 955 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
13,479
About 1 in 25,429 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
96.1% confidence
Average Age
50
years old
Peak Year
1956
412 births
Total Registered
24,242
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Rae
Rae is predominantly female (96.1%), though 955 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Rae as a male name
Ranked #7,593 in 2024
11 male births in 2024
Peak: 1923 (27 births)
Rae as a female name
Ranked #1,265 in 2024
184 female births in 2024
Peak: 1956 (406 births)
Rae: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Rae span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 3,562 babies were registered. While Rae is less common than at its peak in the 1950s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Rae by Decade
How has Rae tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 262 | 0 | 262 | |
| 1890s | 698 | 25 | 673 | |
| 1900s | 699 | 0 | 699 | |
| 1910s | 1,852 | 114 | 1,738 | |
| 1920s | 2,068 | 195 | 1,873 | |
| 1930s | 2,224 | 128 | 2,096 | |
| 1940s | 2,777 | 117 | 2,660 | |
| 1950s | 3,562 | 106 | 3,456 | |
| 1960s | 2,959 | 64 | 2,895 | |
| 1970s | 1,874 | 26 | 1,848 | |
| 1980s | 1,274 | 24 | 1,250 | |
| 1990s | 966 | 45 | 921 | |
| 2000s | 647 | 22 | 625 | |
| 2010s | 1,278 | 50 | 1,228 | |
| 2020s | 1,102 | 39 | 1,063 | |
Rae by State
Birth registrations for Rae span all 47 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Wyoming, Rhode Island, District of Columbia. On average, about 326 Raes were registered per state.
Rae + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Rae as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Rae
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
Rae: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rae?
We estimate approximately 13,479 people named Rae are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 25,429 Americans share this first name.
Is Rae a common name?
Rae is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 24,242 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Rae most popular?
Rae reached peak popularity in 1956, when 412 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Rae is approximately 50 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Rae a female name?
Rae is predominantly female. 96.1% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Rae Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Rae Smith, Rae Johnson, Rae Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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