Head to head · Boys' names
Raphael vs Remy
#394 vs #408 in 2025
Raphael is a whisker ahead (#394 vs #408 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Raphael is climbing the charts fast, Remy is holding its place on the charts.
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, Raphael leads 5 measures of 6; Remy 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, Remy — — Raphael higher
- 1890s: Raphael #658, Remy — — Raphael higher
- 1900s: Raphael #688, Remy — — Raphael higher
- 1910s: Raphael #576, Remy #3154 — Raphael higher
- 1920s: Raphael #635, Remy #3387 — Raphael higher
- 1930s: Raphael #748, Remy #3662 — Raphael higher
- 1940s: Raphael #808, Remy #3370 — Raphael higher
- 1950s: Raphael #771, Remy #2905 — Raphael higher
- 1960s: Raphael #727, Remy #2821 — Raphael higher
- 1970s: Raphael #619, Remy #3437 — Raphael higher
- 1980s: Raphael #594, Remy #2099 — Raphael higher
- 1990s: Raphael #609, Remy #1470 — Raphael higher
- 2000s: Raphael #667, Remy #1297 — Raphael higher
- 2010s: Raphael #578, Remy #629 — Raphael higher
- 2020s: Raphael #466, Remy #378 — Remy higher
Raphael stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Remy took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Raphael | Remy |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #801 | — |
| 1890s | #658 | — |
| 1900s | #688 | — |
| 1910s | #576 | #3154 |
| 1920s | #635 | #3387 |
| 1930s | #748 | #3662 |
| 1940s | #808 | #3370 |
| 1950s | #771 | #2905 |
| 1960s | #727 | #2821 |
| 1970s | #619 | #3437 |
| 1980s | #594 | #2099 |
| 1990s | #609 | #1470 |
| 2000s | #667 | #1297 |
| 2010s | #578 | #629 |
| 2020s | #466 | #378 |
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
Remy
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.
Remy
oarsman, rower
From Latin Remigius, built on remex, remigis — the man at the oar. The saint's fame in Gaul, not the word itself, is what carried the name forward.
Remigius → Rémi → Rémy → Remy
How it traveled
The Latin Remigius belonged most famously to the bishop of Reims who died around 533 and who baptized the Frankish king Clovis, an event that anchored the name in northern France for good. Medieval French wore it down to Rémi and Rémy, and the accent-free Remy is simply what the name looks like once English gets hold of it.
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.
Remy
REM-ee
Standard in American English, stress on the first syllable. The French Rémy is ray-MEE, with the stress at the back — worth deciding which one you want before the name is handed to a room full of relatives.
- Rem — The obvious clipped form; used informally and rarely written on anything official.
- Remmy — A doubled-consonant spelling used affectionately, mostly by family.
- Rey — Occasional, and stands on its own as a given name elsewhere.
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 most people already know#394 in 2025, 807 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 118 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itRaphael runs 3 syllables, Remy 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Rafa, Rafi and Raph
Choose Remy if you want…
- a name fewer children share#408 in 2025 — remy will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name holding steadyRemy is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesRemy is 2 syllables to Raphael's 3
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.
Remy
Strengths
- Two syllables, five letters, and spelled the way an English speaker hears it — no accent to lose in forms and databases.
- Works for a girl or a boy without either use looking like a mistake, since American records carry both.
- A documented line running back to late-antique Gaul, with living forms in French, Italian, Spanish and Polish.
To consider
- Two pronunciations compete: the English REM-ee and the French ray-MEE. Both are correct for the name, so expect to correct people occasionally, and expect the correction to be easy.
- Rémy Martin cognac and the cooking rat in Pixar's Ratatouille are the two associations most Americans reach for first. Neither is a problem, but you will hear about them.
- The spelling splits three ways — Remy, Remi, Rémy — so the name will sometimes be written back to you in a form you didn't choose.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Remy 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
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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 Remy each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Raphael or Remy — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Raphael or Remy?
- Raphael, in 2025: Raphael ranked #394 with 807 babies; Remy ranked #408 with 781 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Raphael or Remy?
- Raphael. Over the last five years Raphael moved up 118 places; Remy moved down 52 places.
- Which is the older name, Raphael or Remy?
- Raphael entered the US charts in 1882; Remy entered the US charts in 1914. On the American record, Raphael is the older name.
- How many people are named Raphael and Remy?
- About 20,500 people named Raphael are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 12,500 people named Remy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Raphaels or Remys in the classroom?
- Raphael will almost certainly be the only one in school. Remy 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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