Raina
Feminine
Raina reaches English from more than one direction — Bulgarian and Serbian households, Yiddish-speaking families, Hindi song — and each road arrives at the same two unfussy syllables. George Bernard Shaw gave the spelling its best-known turn in English when he made Raina Petkoff the heroine of Arms and the Man in the 1890s, a Bulgarian name chosen for a Bulgarian character. It has appeared in American records across generations since, without ever crowding a classroom.
How old is the name Raina?
Raina first appears in US birth records in 1946 — 79 years ago. The typical Raina alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 12,000 people named Raina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Raina most popular?
Raina peaked in 2011, reaching #737 nationally. Today it ranks #914, 177 places below that high. See the whole 2011 chart.
Where it comes from
From Regina to Raina
The story of Raina
The Slavic line is the oldest thread that can be followed: Latin regina passed into southeastern Europe through the Church, and Rayna emerged as a Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian given name in its own right. A second line runs through Yiddish, where Rayna was in ordinary use among Ashkenazi families and its Sephardic cousin Reina appeared in Ladino-speaking communities. A third has nothing to do with either: in Hindi and Urdu, raina is a word for night, and Raina is also a long-established Kashmiri surname. All three currents fed into American use, which is part of why the name feels at home on so many family trees at once.
Meaningscholars disagree
Several established readings: "queen", "night", or "pure", depending on which tradition the name is coming from
In Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian, Rayna/Raina is documented as a short form of Regina, from Latin regina, "queen". In Hindi, raina (from Sanskrit rajani) means "night", a word familiar from film songs. Among Yiddish-speaking families, Rayna is tied to German rein, "pure", and sits beside Ladino Reina, also "queen". These are genuinely separate lines that met at one spelling rather than one meaning splitting apart.
How the name formed
- Regina
- Rayna
- Raina
Related forms: Райна (Rayna) · Rajna · Rayna · Reina · Regina · रैना (Raina)
Pronouncing Raina
RAY-nuh
RAY-nuh is the usual American reading. RYE-nuh is heard too, and families with Slavic or South Asian roots may prefer it, so it is worth deciding early which one you will correct people toward.
Nicknames for Raina
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1946
- Most girls named
- 2011375 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #737reached in 2011
- Change vs 2023
- −0.7%287 in 2025, from 289
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Raina in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Райна (Rayna) in Bulgarian — transliteration
- Rajna in Serbian — spelling variant
- Rayna in Yiddish — same name
- Reina in Ladino / Spanish — related form
- Regina in Latin — related form
- रैना (Raina) in Hindi — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Florida.
Rainas among us
people named Raina are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 5,600 born in 2025 was named Raina
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Raina
- #914
- Raina on the 2025 chart
- #433
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Raina went to 287 girls in 2025, but Rayna, Rainah and Raynah and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 5 spellings went to 653, which makes it the 433rd most-given girls’ name of the year — 481 places above the chart.
- Rayna342
- Raina287
- Rainah11
- Raynah8
- Raiyna5
About 1 girl in 2,461 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 5,600 for Raina itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Mickie test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Raina's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mickie climbed just as high around 1949, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mickie's path sketches the road Raina is walking now.
Raina 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Raina is headed
Raina should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Raina beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Raina in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two syllables, six letters, no silent parts — most people can say it correctly on first sight, even if they need the vowel confirmed once.
- Belongs comfortably in Slavic, Jewish and South Asian families, which makes it a rare workable answer for households drawing on more than one tradition.
- Has stayed on American records across many generations at a low, even level, so it reads as established rather than newly minted.
- Comes with Rae already attached — a real short form in independent use, not one you would have to invent.
- It competes with Rayna, Reina and Rainah, all in genuine use, so expect to spell it aloud fairly often. The upside is that every one of those spellings is pronounceable to a stranger.
- Two pronunciations circulate, RAY-nuh and RYE-nuh, and the name gives no clue which you mean. Some Rainas answer to both and stop correcting people.
- The word rain sits inside it in English, which invites weather remarks — mild, and mostly outgrown by the second grade.
- At this level of use, a Raina will likely be the only one in her school. Some children like that and some would rather share.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Raina to the vote.
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What they receive
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Raina
Feminine · #914 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rainas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 12,000 people named Raina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Raina?
- Raina is one of 5 recorded spellings. Rayna is the more common one — 342 births in 2025 against 287 for Raina.
- How popular is the name Raina in 2025?
- Raina ranks #914 among US girl names in 2025, with 287 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Raina?
- About 1 in every 5,600 US girls born in 2025 was named Raina — 287 in all.
- Will my child share the name Raina with classmates?
- Raina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Raina
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Sarahi#914 · Eliora#914 · Giuliana#914 · Anayah#913 · Bennett#912 · Zaylee#918 · Elyse#918 · Micah#908
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Raina? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Raina and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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