Head to head · Boys' names
Raul vs Zayd
#634 vs #632 in 2025
Zayd is a whisker ahead (#632 vs #634 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Zayd is climbing the charts fast, Raul 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
The tape is even: Raul and Zayd each lead 3 measures of 6.
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
- 1900s: Raul #925, Zayd — — Raul higher
- 1910s: Raul #673, Zayd — — Raul higher
- 1920s: Raul #360, Zayd — — Raul higher
- 1930s: Raul #306, Zayd — — Raul higher
- 1940s: Raul #298, Zayd — — Raul higher
- 1950s: Raul #256, Zayd — — Raul higher
- 1960s: Raul #256, Zayd — — Raul higher
- 1970s: Raul #213, Zayd #4634 — Raul higher
- 1980s: Raul #206, Zayd #6042 — Raul higher
- 1990s: Raul #212, Zayd #5036 — Raul higher
- 2000s: Raul #254, Zayd #1801 — Raul higher
- 2010s: Raul #439, Zayd #1111 — Raul higher
- 2020s: Raul #593, Zayd #727 — Raul higher
Raul stood higher in every recorded decade — 13 of 13.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Raul | Zayd |
|---|---|---|
| 1900s | #925 | — |
| 1910s | #673 | — |
| 1920s | #360 | — |
| 1930s | #306 | — |
| 1940s | #298 | — |
| 1950s | #256 | — |
| 1960s | #256 | — |
| 1970s | #213 | #4634 |
| 1980s | #206 | #6042 |
| 1990s | #212 | #5036 |
| 2000s | #254 | #1801 |
| 2010s | #439 | #1111 |
| 2020s | #593 | #727 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Raul
counsel-wolf, from Germanic rād 'advice, counsel' and wulf 'wolf'
The same two elements sit inside the English Ralph and the French Raoul; the Germanic naming habit of pairing an abstract quality with an animal is very old and very well documented.
Rādwulf → Radulf → Raoul → Raúl → Raul
How it traveled
The oldest form is the Germanic Rādwulf, latinized as Radulf, which spread through Frankish territory in the early medieval period. Old French wore it down to Raoul, and Norman speakers took that form to England, where it settled as Ralph.
Zayd
growth, increase, abundance
From the Arabic root z-y-d, 'to increase, to add'. The same root gives Ziyad and Zayed.
z-y-d (Arabic root: to increase) → Zayd (زيد) → Zaid
How it traveled
Zayd (زيد) is Arabic, formed from the root z-y-d, which carries the sense of increase and abundance. It belongs to the first generation of Islamic history: Zayd ibn Harithah, the adopted son of Muhammad, and Zayd ibn Thabit, one of the scribes who recorded the Qur'an, both bore it, and Zayd ibn Ali gave his name to the Zaydi branch of Shia Islam.
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
Raul
rah-OOL
Two syllables, stress on the second. In Spanish the accent mark (Raúl) is what keeps the vowels apart; without it, English speakers sometimes flatten it to one syllable, closer to 'Rowl'.
- Raulito — Standard Spanish diminutive, used affectionately within families and often for a boy named after his father.
- Rauli — Informal short form; also exists independently as a Finnish given name.
- Rau — Clipped informal form heard among friends and teammates rather than in writing.
Zayd
ZAYD
One syllable, rhyming with 'made'. The spelling Zaid is sometimes read as two syllables, zah-EED, particularly by speakers used to that transliteration — Zayd steers English readers to the single-syllable form more reliably.
- Zay — The usual informal clip among English-speaking friends and classmates; also used on its own for Zayn and Xavier, so it is not name-specific.
- Z — Single-letter nickname, common in American schools and workplaces for any Z name.
- Zaydu / Zaydo — Affectionate family diminutives of the kind Arabic often forms with a final vowel; household use rather than public.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Raul if you want…
- a name holding steadyRaul is holding its place on the charts
Choose Zayd if you want…
- a name on the way upup 147 places on the charts in five years
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
Raul
Strengths
- Works unchanged in English, Spanish and Portuguese — only the accent mark shifts, and the sound stays recognizable in all three.
- Four letters, no silent letters, no competing spellings to choose between.
- A documented line running from early medieval Frankish names through Old French to the modern form.
To consider
- The accent in Raúl will be dropped by school systems, forms and databases; deciding early whether you write it with or without saves years of small corrections.
- English-only speakers often need one gentle correction, either compressing it to a single syllable or reaching for the French Raoul.
- Its American strength is concentrated in the southwest and California, so outside those regions it may be met as unfamiliar rather than merely uncommon — which is not the same as difficult.
Zayd
Strengths
- One syllable, four letters, and phonetic in English — most people say it right on the first try.
- Works unchanged in Arabic, English, Urdu and Turkish contexts, which few short names manage.
- A documented record stretching back to the seventh century, so it is old rather than new despite its recent American arrival.
To consider
- Zayd and Zaid are both in real use, so expect the spelling question at every appointment and enrollment. Neither is wrong; picking one and holding to it is the whole job.
- It sits close to Zane and Zayn, both far more familiar in American ears, and will occasionally be misheard as one of them over the phone.
- In most American schools a Zayd will be the only one, which some children enjoy and others find tiring in the early years of correcting adults.
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 Raul and Zayd 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 Raul and Zayd?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Raul and Zayd — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Raul or Zayd — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Raul or Zayd?
- Zayd, in 2025: Zayd ranked #632 with 442 babies; Raul ranked #634 with 440 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Raul or Zayd?
- Zayd. Over the last five years Raul moved down 77 places; Zayd moved up 147 places.
- Which is the older name, Raul or Zayd?
- Raul entered the US charts in 1904; Zayd entered the US charts in 1974. On the American record, Raul is the older name.
- How many people are named Raul and Zayd?
- About 73,500 people named Raul are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 4,800 people named Zayd are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Rauls or Zayds in the classroom?
- Raul will almost certainly be the only one in school. Zayd will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Raul, Zayd and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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