Head to head · Girls' names
Raya vs Regina
#369 vs #395 in 2025
Raya is ahead (#369 vs #395 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Raya is climbing the charts fast, Regina 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: Raya and Regina 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
- 1880s: Raya —, Regina #251 — Regina higher
- 1890s: Raya —, Regina #231 — Regina higher
- 1900s: Raya —, Regina #208 — Regina higher
- 1910s: Raya —, Regina #193 — Regina higher
- 1920s: Raya —, Regina #194 — Regina higher
- 1930s: Raya —, Regina #232 — Regina higher
- 1940s: Raya —, Regina #194 — Regina higher
- 1950s: Raya #6103, Regina #130 — Regina higher
- 1960s: Raya #6761, Regina #88 — Regina higher
- 1970s: Raya #6398, Regina #112 — Regina higher
- 1980s: Raya #5830, Regina #197 — Regina higher
- 1990s: Raya #3147, Regina #395 — Regina higher
- 2000s: Raya #1958, Regina #615 — Regina higher
- 2010s: Raya #1188, Regina #501 — Regina higher
- 2020s: Raya #486, Regina #379 — Regina higher
Regina stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Raya | Regina |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #251 |
| 1890s | — | #231 |
| 1900s | — | #208 |
| 1910s | — | #193 |
| 1920s | — | #194 |
| 1930s | — | #232 |
| 1940s | — | #194 |
| 1950s | #6103 | #130 |
| 1960s | #6761 | #88 |
| 1970s | #6398 | #112 |
| 1980s | #5830 | #197 |
| 1990s | #3147 | #395 |
| 2000s | #1958 | #615 |
| 2010s | #1188 | #501 |
| 2020s | #486 | #379 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Raya
- England & Wales#82
Regina
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
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.
Regina
queen
From Latin regina, queen. In Christian use it echoes Mary's title Regina Caeli, Queen of Heaven.
regina → Regina
How it traveled
The Salve Regina, Hail Holy Queen, is one of the oldest hymns to Mary, sung at the close of the day, and Columbus's journal records his crews singing it at dusk on the Atlantic. The name came from that devotion into Catholic families across Europe and America.
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
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.
Regina
ruh-JEE-nuh
Stress on the second syllable. The Canadian city is ruh-JY-nuh, and in German and Italian the g is hard: reh-GEE-nah.
- Gina — The most common short form, a name in its own right.
- Reggie — A lively short form, more often a boy's.
- Ina — Taken from the end; soft and quiet.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Raya if you want…
- a name most people already know#369 in 2025, 831 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 563 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesRaya is 2 syllables to Regina's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooRaya is on the national lists of England & Wales
Choose Regina if you want…
- a name fewer children share#395 in 2025 — regina will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name holding steadyRegina is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itRegina runs 3 syllables, Raya 2
- a long American recordRegina was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
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.
Regina
Strengths
- Its meaning, queen, is clear and dignified.
- Gina, Reggie and Ina give three different short forms.
- It is familiar across many languages.
To consider
- Many people associate it with a particular generation of women.
- The city's name is said differently, and some will make rhyming jokes about it.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
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.
Regina
40%chance Regina feels dated by 2040
Regina 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.
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 Raya and Regina 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 Raya and Regina?
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.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
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 these names appear on
- British invasion: UK favorites still rare in the US
- One-decade wonders
- Midcentury modern: tomorrow's comeback bets
- Names with only one spelling
- all guides
Where Raya and Regina each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Raya or Regina — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Raya or Regina?
- Raya, in 2025: Raya ranked #369 with 831 babies; Regina ranked #395 with 786 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Raya or Regina?
- Raya. Over the last five years Raya moved up 563 places; Regina moved up 37 places.
- Which is the older name, Raya or Regina?
- Raya entered the US charts in 1958; Regina was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Regina is the older name.
- How many people are named Raya and Regina?
- About 7,900 people named Raya are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 141,000 people named Regina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Rayas or Reginas in the classroom?
- Raya will almost certainly be the only one in school. Regina 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Raya, Regina and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap