Head to head · Boys' names
Raphael vs Raymond
#394 vs #394 in 2025
Raphael and Raymond share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#394). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
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, Raymond leads 3 measures of 6; Raphael leads 1.
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
- 1880s: Raphael #801, Raymond #61 — Raymond higher
- 1890s: Raphael #658, Raymond #27 — Raymond higher
- 1900s: Raphael #688, Raymond #21 — Raymond higher
- 1910s: Raphael #576, Raymond #17 — Raymond higher
- 1920s: Raphael #635, Raymond #15 — Raymond higher
- 1930s: Raphael #748, Raymond #19 — Raymond higher
- 1940s: Raphael #808, Raymond #24 — Raymond higher
- 1950s: Raphael #771, Raymond #37 — Raymond higher
- 1960s: Raphael #727, Raymond #47 — Raymond higher
- 1970s: Raphael #619, Raymond #61 — Raymond higher
- 1980s: Raphael #594, Raymond #75 — Raymond higher
- 1990s: Raphael #609, Raymond #120 — Raymond higher
- 2000s: Raphael #667, Raymond #190 — Raymond higher
- 2010s: Raphael #578, Raymond #269 — Raymond higher
- 2020s: Raphael #466, Raymond #353 — Raymond higher
Raymond stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Raphael | Raymond |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #801 | #61 |
| 1890s | #658 | #27 |
| 1900s | #688 | #21 |
| 1910s | #576 | #17 |
| 1920s | #635 | #15 |
| 1930s | #748 | #19 |
| 1940s | #808 | #24 |
| 1950s | #771 | #37 |
| 1960s | #727 | #47 |
| 1970s | #619 | #61 |
| 1980s | #594 | #75 |
| 1990s | #609 | #120 |
| 2000s | #667 | #190 |
| 2010s | #578 | #269 |
| 2020s | #466 | #353 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Raphael
- Canada#56
Raymond
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Raphael
God has healed
From Hebrew rapha, to heal, joined to El, God — the same El that ends Michael, Gabriel and Daniel.
Rephael (Hebrew) → Rhaphaēl (Greek) → Raphael (Latin) → Raffaello / Rafael → Raphael
How it traveled
The name is Hebrew, and it belongs first to one of the named archangels: Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit, guiding a young man on a long journey and restoring his father's sight, without revealing who he is until the end. Greek and then Latin scripture carried the spelling with ph, which is why English still writes it that way while Spanish and Portuguese write Rafael.
Raymond
counsel and protection
The two Germanic halves are among the commonest in the whole name stock: the first appears in Reginald and Ronald, the second in Edmund and Sigmund. The compound reached English through Norman French rather than directly.
Raginmund → Raimund → Raymond
How it traveled
Ramon Llull was a Mallorcan nobleman who abandoned court life in the thirteenth century, learned Arabic, and set out to prove Christianity to Muslim scholars by argument rather than force. To do it he built the Ars Magna: a set of concentric paper wheels lettered with basic concepts, which could be rotated to produce every possible combination of them.
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
Raphael
RAF-ay-el
Also heard as RAF-ee-el and RAY-fee-el in English; Spanish and Portuguese Rafael is rah-fah-EL with the stress at the end, and French Raphaël is rah-fa-EL. All are correct for the name — worth deciding which one your family will use.
- Rafa — The standard short form in Spanish and Portuguese, informal, and widely understood in English too.
- Rafi — Common in Jewish families and in Israel; also used as a given name in its own right.
- Raph — The plainest English clip, usually rhyming with 'safe' or with 'staff' depending on the family.
- Rafe — Used as a short form, and separately an old English given name in its own right.
- Also Ray.
Raymond
RAY-mund
Two syllables with the weight at the front. French says ray-MOHN with the final consonant silent, and Spanish rah-MOHN.
- Ray — The standard short form; a standing name of its own and often given without the long name behind it.
- Ramon — The Spanish and Catalan form, used as a familiar name in bilingual families.
- Raymie — An affectionate form used inside families.
One short form, two names
- Raphael and Raymond both shorten to Ray.
Short forms as recorded on each name’s own page. This is here so it is a decision rather than a discovery.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Raphael if you want…
- a name on the way upup 118 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itRaphael runs 3 syllables, Raymond 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Rafa, Rafi and Raph
- a name that charts abroad tooRaphael is on the national lists of Canada
Choose Raymond if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsRaymond is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesRaymond is 2 syllables to Raphael's 3
- a long American recordRaymond was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 51% for Raphael
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
Raphael
Strengths
- Works unchanged or near-unchanged in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French and German — useful in a bilingual or multi-country family.
- Several long-established short forms already in real use: Rafa, Rafi, Raph, Rafe.
- An unbroken written record from Hebrew scripture through Latin, Renaissance Italy and modern Europe.
To consider
- Rafael is the more common spelling in Spanish and Portuguese, so expect to specify 'with a ph' fairly often — at doctors' offices, on class lists, in email addresses.
- Pronunciation genuinely varies: RAF-ay-el, RAF-ee-el and rah-fah-EL all belong to the name. Correcting people is a lifelong low-level task, though most take the correction easily.
- For anyone who grew up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Raphael is the one in the red mask. It comes up on playgrounds and it passes.
Raymond
Strengths
- It has a form in every western European language and is recognized across all of them.
- Ray is one of the most established short forms in English and stands alone as a name.
- It has a documented history running from the Franks through medieval Spain to the present.
To consider
- It is strongly associated with the first half of the twentieth century in America.
- One long-running sitcom title has attached itself for a whole generation.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Raphael
51%chance Raphael feels dated by 2040
Raphael 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.
Raymond
12%chance Raymond feels dated by 2040
Raymond has held the top-100 across 11 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
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 Raphael and Raymond 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 Raphael and Raymond?
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
- Canadian favorites the US overlooks
- Quiet perennials: a century old, never popular
- Angel and heaven names
- Names borrowed from painters
- all guides
Where Raphael and Raymond each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Raphael or Raymond — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Raphael or Raymond?
- They tie in 2025: Raphael ranked #394 with 807 babies; Raymond ranked #394 with 807 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Raphael or Raymond?
- Raphael. Over the last five years Raphael moved up 118 places; Raymond moved down 83 places.
- Which is the older name, Raphael or Raymond?
- Raphael entered the US charts in 1882; Raymond was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Raymond is the older name.
- How many people are named Raphael and Raymond?
- About 20,500 people named Raphael are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 372,000 people named Raymond are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Do Raphael and Raymond share a nickname?
- Yes — both shorten to Ray, so in a house with both names the short form would not say which child is meant.
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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