Head to head · Boys' names
Raymond vs Remy
#394 vs #408 in 2025
Raymond is a whisker ahead (#394 vs #408 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Raymond is stepping back from its peak, Remy is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Remy 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, Raymond leads 5 measures of 6; Remy leads 0.
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: Raymond #61, Remy — — Raymond higher
- 1890s: Raymond #27, Remy — — Raymond higher
- 1900s: Raymond #21, Remy — — Raymond higher
- 1910s: Raymond #17, Remy #3154 — Raymond higher
- 1920s: Raymond #15, Remy #3387 — Raymond higher
- 1930s: Raymond #19, Remy #3662 — Raymond higher
- 1940s: Raymond #24, Remy #3370 — Raymond higher
- 1950s: Raymond #37, Remy #2905 — Raymond higher
- 1960s: Raymond #47, Remy #2821 — Raymond higher
- 1970s: Raymond #61, Remy #3437 — Raymond higher
- 1980s: Raymond #75, Remy #2099 — Raymond higher
- 1990s: Raymond #120, Remy #1470 — Raymond higher
- 2000s: Raymond #190, Remy #1297 — Raymond higher
- 2010s: Raymond #269, Remy #629 — Raymond higher
- 2020s: Raymond #353, Remy #378 — Raymond higher
Raymond stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Raymond | Remy |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #61 | — |
| 1890s | #27 | — |
| 1900s | #21 | — |
| 1910s | #17 | #3154 |
| 1920s | #15 | #3387 |
| 1930s | #19 | #3662 |
| 1940s | #24 | #3370 |
| 1950s | #37 | #2905 |
| 1960s | #47 | #2821 |
| 1970s | #61 | #3437 |
| 1980s | #75 | #2099 |
| 1990s | #120 | #1470 |
| 2000s | #190 | #1297 |
| 2010s | #269 | #629 |
| 2020s | #353 | #378 |
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
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.
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
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.
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 Raymond if you want…
- a name most people already know#394 in 2025, 807 babies that year
- a name past its most crowded yearsRaymond is stepping back from its peak
- 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 40% for Remy
Choose Remy if you want…
- a name fewer children share#408 in 2025 — remy will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a newer arrivalRemy entered the US charts in 1914
- a name that feels very nowRemy is holding its place on the charts
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
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.
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.
How each is likely to age
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.
Remy
40%chance Remy feels dated by 2040
Remy 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 Raymond 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
Still torn between Raymond and Remy?
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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
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Greatest Generation names (born 1901–1927)
- Silent Generation names (born 1928–1945)
- Baby Boomer names (born 1946–1964)
- all guides
Where Raymond and Remy each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Raymond or Remy — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Raymond or Remy?
- Raymond, in 2025: Raymond ranked #394 with 807 babies; Remy ranked #408 with 781 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Raymond or Remy?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Raymond moved down 83 places; Remy moved down 52 places.
- Which is the older name, Raymond or Remy?
- Raymond was already in use when US records began in 1880; Remy entered the US charts in 1914. On the American record, Raymond is the older name.
- How many people are named Raymond and Remy?
- About 372,000 people named Raymond 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 Raymonds or Remys in the classroom?
- Raymond 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. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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