Head to head · Girls' names
Alaya vs Raya
#368 vs #369 in 2025
Alaya is a whisker ahead (#368 vs #369 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Alaya is holding its place on the charts, Raya is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Raya has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Alaya leads 4 measures of 6; Raya leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1950s: Alaya —, Raya #6103 — Raya higher
- 1960s: Alaya —, Raya #6761 — Raya higher
- 1970s: Alaya #10210, Raya #6398 — Raya higher
- 1980s: Alaya #7795, Raya #5830 — Raya higher
- 1990s: Alaya #4462, Raya #3147 — Raya higher
- 2000s: Alaya #1459, Raya #1958 — Alaya higher
- 2010s: Alaya #745, Raya #1188 — Alaya higher
- 2020s: Alaya #370, Raya #486 — Alaya higher
Raya stood higher in 5 of 8 decades; Alaya has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alaya | Raya |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s | — | #6103 |
| 1960s | — | #6761 |
| 1970s | #10210 | #6398 |
| 1980s | #7795 | #5830 |
| 1990s | #4462 | #3147 |
| 2000s | #1459 | #1958 |
| 2010s | #745 | #1188 |
| 2020s | #370 | #486 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Alaya
Not charting outside the US.
Raya
- England & Wales#82
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Alaya
"exalted, high" in Arabic; "abode, dwelling place" in Sanskrit; "joyful" through Basque Alaia
Three serious readings feed this spelling. Through Arabic, it belongs with ʿĀliyah and Aaliyah, from a root meaning high or exalted. In Sanskrit, ālaya means abode or dwelling — the second half of Himālaya, hima-ālaya, "abode of snow" — and it is also the term in Yogācāra Buddhist philosophy for the storehouse consciousness. Through Basque, Alaia comes from alai, cheerful. Which one a given family means is a family matter, and all three are real.
ʿAlī → ʿĀliyah → Aaliyah / Aliyah → Alaya
How it traveled
The Arabic ʿĀliyah, feminine of ʿAlī, has been in continuous use across the Muslim world for well over a millennium, and reached English-speaking countries in a wide fan of spellings — Aaliyah, Aliyah, Aliya, Alia, Alaya among them. Independently, Sanskrit ālaya has been a familiar element in Indian place and personal names for centuries, and Basque Alaia became popular in the Spanish Basque Country in the twentieth century.
Raya
"Friend, companion" in Hebrew — though the name also reaches English by two other roads
Three genuine sources meet at this spelling. In Hebrew, ra'ya (רעיה) means friend or companion, the feminine of re'a, and appears in the Song of Songs as a term of endearment. In Russian and Bulgarian, Raya (Рая) is a long-established affectionate short form of Raisa. In Arabic, Rayya carries the sense of thirst quenched, water enough. None of these cancels the others — a Raya may be named from any of them.
Rhaïs → Raisa → Raya
How it traveled
The Hebrew ra'ya is the oldest thread: a word for companion or beloved, used in the Song of Songs and revived as a given name in modern Hebrew. Separately, Slavic families have used Raya for generations as the everyday form of Raisa, itself from the Greek Rhaïs, borne by an Egyptian saint of the fourth century.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Alaya
uh-LAY-uh
Also widely said ah-LIE-uh, closer to the Arabic ʿĀliyah, and both are correct depending on the family. The stress falls on the middle syllable either way.
- Laya — The most natural clipping; also used on its own as a given name in Spanish- and Arabic-speaking families.
- Lala — A household nickname, used mostly by family and mostly in early childhood.
- Aya — Informal short form, and a standalone given name in Japanese and Arabic naming.
- Ally — Informal; shared with Alyssa, Allison and Alexandra, so it identifies less clearly.
- Also Lay.
Raya
RYE-uh
RYE-uh is the dominant American pronunciation and the one used for the Disney character. RAY-uh is also in real use, and Hebrew speakers stress the second syllable: ra-YAH. Expect to state your version more than once.
- Rae — The usual informal clip in English; also stands on its own as a given name.
- Ray — Same sound, the spelling more often seen on men; used informally within families.
- Rayrah — A reduplicated household nickname of the kind small children get; not used outside the family.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Alaya if you want…
- a name holding steadyAlaya is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itAlaya runs 3 syllables, Raya 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Laya, Lala and Aya
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 60% for Raya
Choose Raya if you want…
- a name on the way upup 563 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesRaya is 2 syllables to Alaya's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooRaya is on the national lists of England & Wales
- a name that feels very nowRaya is climbing the charts fast
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Alaya
Strengths
- Only three sounds to explain, all of them open vowels — easy to say in English, Spanish and Arabic alike.
- Sits inside a well-known family of names, so the sound is already familiar to most American ears even where the spelling is not.
- Genuine short forms in use: Laya, Lala, Aya — nothing has to be invented.
To consider
- Two pronunciations circulate — uh-LAY-uh and ah-LIE-uh — and the spelling does not choose between them. Expect to correct people, and decide early which one your family uses.
- It shares its sound with Aaliyah, Aliyah, Alayah and Alaia, so hearers often write it a different way than you do. Repeating the spelling will be routine.
- The name's American record is short and its bearers are overwhelmingly young, so there are few adult Alayas to set a precedent — which also means a child is unlikely to share it with anyone in her grade.
Raya
Strengths
- Two syllables, five letters, no silent letters or doubled consonants — writable by the child themselves early on.
- Genuinely at home in Hebrew, Russian, Bulgarian and Arabic, so it travels between families and languages without translation.
- Also charts in England & Wales, which means it reads as a name rather than a novelty to English speakers abroad.
To consider
- Two pronunciations compete — RYE-uh and RAY-uh — and neither is wrong. Choosing one and using it consistently saves a lifetime of small corrections.
- For this generation the name is closely tied to the Disney heroine. That association will be the first thing many people mention, and it will fade slowly rather than quickly.
- It sits in a crowded sound-neighborhood with Maya, Kaia, Aaliyah and Alaya, so mishearings are more likely than misspellings.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Alaya
40%chance Alaya feels dated by 2040
Alaya sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Raya
60%chance Raya feels dated by 2040
Raya is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Alaya and Raya in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Alaya and Raya?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names far more common than their rank admits
- British invasion: UK favorites still rare in the US
- all guides
Where Alaya and Raya each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Alaya or Raya — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alaya or Raya?
- Alaya, in 2025: Alaya ranked #368 with 834 babies; Raya ranked #369 with 831 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alaya or Raya?
- Raya. Over the last five years Alaya moved down 30 places; Raya moved up 563 places.
- Which is the older name, Alaya or Raya?
- Alaya entered the US charts in 1979; Raya entered the US charts in 1958. On the American record, Raya is the older name.
- How many people are named Alaya and Raya?
- About 11,000 people named Alaya are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 7,900 people named Raya are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Alayas or Rayas in the classroom?
- Alaya will almost certainly be the only one in school. Raya will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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