Ravenna
Feminine
Ravenna is an Italian city that was capital of the western Roman empire, then of the Ostrogoths, then of Byzantine Italy — and its mosaics are the best-preserved anywhere.
How old is the name Ravenna?
Ravenna first appears in US birth records in 1932 — 93 years ago. The typical Ravenna is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Ravenna are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ravenna most popular?
Ravenna peaked in 1933, reaching #2540 nationally. Today it ranks #4067, 1,527 places below that high. See the whole 1933 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Ravenna
Ravenna became the western imperial capital in 402 because it was defensible behind marshes and had a port; Theodoric the Ostrogoth ruled from it, and afterwards the Byzantines. The mosaics in San Vitale and Sant'Apollinare are among the greatest surviving works of late antiquity. Dante is buried there. Its use as a given name is small and appears in American records around 1930.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The city's name has no settled origin and is probably Etruscan or older; readings connecting it to a word for a marsh have been proposed without support. A separate modern reading treats the name as Raven extended, which is a different word entirely.
Pronouncing Ravenna
rah-VEN-ah
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Italian gives the same shape.
Nicknames for Ravenna
Moderate
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
- 1932
- Most girls named
- 202044 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2540reached in 1933
- Change vs 2024
- −2.8%35 in 2025, from 36
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.
Ravenna in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ravenna in Italian — same name
- Raven in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Washington, California.
Ravennas among us
people named Ravenna are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 45,922 born in 2025 was named Ravenna
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Ravenna
- #4067
- Ravenna on the 2025 chart
- #908
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Ravenna went to 35 girls in 2025, but Raveena and Ravena are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 52, which makes it the 908th most-given girls’ name of the year — 3,159 places above the chart.
- Ravenna35
- Raveena12
- Ravena5
About 1 girl in 30,909 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 45,922 for Ravenna 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 Jenne test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Ravenna's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jenne climbed just as high around 1913, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jenne's path sketches the road Ravenna is walking now.
Ravenna 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 Ravenna is headed
Ravenna should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Ravenna beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ravenna in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A real city with an extraordinary and well-documented history behind it.
- Raven is a complete short form in current use.
- Read correctly on sight by most English speakers.
- It is read as an extension of Raven, which is an unrelated word.
- The city's own name has no established meaning.
- Naming a child for a city invites a question about family connection.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Ravenna to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Ravenna
Feminine · #4067 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ravennas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Ravenna are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Ravenna?
- Ravenna is the most-used spelling in US records — 35 of the 52 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Raveena and Ravena.
- How popular is the name Ravenna in 2025?
- Ravenna ranks #4067 among US girl names in 2025, with 35 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ravenna?
- About 1 in every 45,922 US girls born in 2025 was named Ravenna — 35 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ravenna with classmates?
- Ravenna will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ravenna
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eli#4067 · Peace#4067 · Medina#4067 · Darlin#4067 · Anja#4067 · Sparrow#4067 · Liani#4067 · Salina#4067
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ravenna? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ravenna and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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