Raynard
Masculine · “strong counsel”
The French word for a fox is renard, and it is a personal name that took the animal's job. A cycle of medieval stories about a scheming fox called Renart was so popular across France that the character's name pushed out the ordinary word, goupil, and replaced it entirely.
How old is the name Raynard?
Raynard first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Raynard alive today was born around 1972, making them about 53 years old. About 2,500 people named Raynard are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Raynard most popular?
Raynard peaked in 1962, reaching #693 nationally. See the whole 1962 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Reginhard to Raynard
The story of Raynard
The Roman de Renart is a sprawl of verse tales written across the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in which a fox outwits a wolf, a bear, a cat and eventually the king, and it was one of the most widely read things in medieval Europe — copied, translated, adapted into Dutch, German and English. By the end of it, French speakers had stopped calling the animal goupil and started calling it renard, which is the only case in French of a proper name completely displacing a common noun. The personal name went on being given regardless, and Raynard is its American spelling, with the first syllable written as it is said.
Meaning
strong counsel
The Germanic compound joins a word for counsel or advice to one meaning hardy or brave. It is a perfectly ordinary Frankish name and has nothing to do with foxes; the animal took the name, not the other way round.
How the name formed
- Reginhard
- Renard
- Raynard
Related forms: Renard · Reinhard · Reinaert · Reynard
Pronouncing Raynard
RAY-nard
Two syllables with the weight at the front. French says ruh-NAR with the final consonant silent, which no English speaker does.
Nicknames for Raynard
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
- 1912
- Most boys named
- 1962123 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #693reached in 1962
- Change vs 2021
- −37.5%5 in 2023, from 8
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.
Raynard in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Renard in French — same name
- Reinhard in German — same name
- Reinaert in Dutch — same name
- Reynard in English — spelling variant
Raynards among us
people named Raynard are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Raynard sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Both syllables are readable, so the name is said correctly at sight.
- Ray is a ready short form and a standing name of its own.
- It carries one of the best documented stories in medieval literature.
- Reynard is the older English spelling and will be written instead.
- In French the name is the word for a fox, which a French speaker will mention.
- It reads clearly as a name of the middle of the twentieth century in America.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Raynard to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Raynard? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Raynard
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Raynards are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,500 people named Raynard are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Raynard in 2025?
- Raynard is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Raynard with classmates?
- Raynard will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Robert#92 · Richard#234 · Ronald#637 · Ryan#99 · Raymond#394 · Roger#832 · Ralph#1046 · Roy#525
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Raynard? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Raynard and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle