Rawley
Masculine · “the roe deer clearing”
Rawley is one of the many spellings of Raleigh, and in the sixteenth century the man we call Sir Walter Raleigh spelled his own name at least forty ways — Rawley and Ralegh among them, but never once the way we write it now. English spelling was not standardized and neither were names. Rawley's American peak is 1946.
How old is the name Rawley?
Rawley first appears in US birth records in 1916 — 109 years ago. The typical Rawley alive today was born around 2009, making them about 16 years old. About 400 people named Rawley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rawley most popular?
Rawley peaked in 1946, reaching #2534 nationally. Today it ranks #6143, 3,609 places below that high. See the whole 1946 chart.
Where it comes from
From ra leah to Rawley
The story of Rawley
Walter Raleigh, born in Devon around 1552, was a courtier, soldier, coloniser, poet and historian, and he was executed in 1618 after a long fall from favor. He signed himself Rawleyghe, Rawley, Rauley and Ralegh at different times, and the modern standard spelling was fixed by later editors rather than by him. The North Carolina city is named for him. The surname crossed to America and became a given name in the ordinary way, and the Rawley spelling has stayed in small use, peaking in the middle of the twentieth century.
Meaningscholars disagree
the roe deer clearing
The place name behind the surname is generally read as ra leah — Old English ra, 'roe deer', and leah, a woodland clearing. There are Raleighs in Devon and Nottinghamshire, and the Devon one is the family's. An alternative reading takes the first element as read, 'red'. The leah is certain and the deer is likely. The many spellings of the surname are a fact about sixteenth-century orthography rather than about the name.
How the name formed
- ra leah
- Ralegh
- Raleigh
- Rawley
Related forms: Raleigh · Rawleigh
Pronouncing Rawley
RAW-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first. The Raleigh spelling is said both RAW-lee and RAL-ee in Britain, and the North Carolina city uses the second. The Rawley spelling settles it in favor of the first.
Nicknames for Rawley
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
- 1916
- Most boys named
- 201424 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2534reached in 1946
- Change vs 2024
- +40.0%14 in 2025, from 10
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.
Rawley in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Raleigh in English — spelling variant
- Rawleigh in English — spelling variant
Rawleys among us
people named Rawley are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 122,005 born in 2025 was named Rawley
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Jehu test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rawley's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jehu climbed just as high around 1916, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jehu's path sketches the road Rawley is walking now.
Rawley 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
Rawley beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rawley in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The spelling removes the ambiguity that Raleigh carries in Britain.
- The place-name elements are genuinely Old English and easy to picture.
- It has a famous and thoroughly documented historical bearer.
- Raleigh is the standard spelling and hers will be written that way.
- It is easily heard as Rally, Rowley or Riley.
- Its American curve is mid-century, which places a bearer's generation.
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Rawley
Masculine · #6143 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rawleys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Rawley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rawley in 2025?
- Rawley ranks #6143 among US boy names in 2025, with 14 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rawley?
- About 1 in every 122,005 US boys born in 2025 was named Rawley — 14 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rawley with classmates?
- Rawley will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rawley
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ruel#6143 · Cornell#6143 · Vasco#6143 · Kemper#6143 · Yates#6143 · Roark#6143 · Raja#6143 · Orville#6143
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rawley? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rawley and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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