Given name & surname
Raven
Raven is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “resembling the black bird; a dark and mysterious beauty” (English) and “resembling the blackbird; a dark and mysterious man” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “resembling the black bird; a dark and mysterious beauty” (English) and “resembling the blackbird; a dark and mysterious man” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1921. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Raven through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 48,253
- 3,333 boys · 44,920 girls
- Most popular year
- 1993
- 2,394 babies
- 2025
- 813
- #404 for girls · #2,973 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +11%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 5% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 771 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 404 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 10.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 2,285 in 1993. It also appeared in 42 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (55). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 37,274 as a first name in 2020; 3,052 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Raven’s family of names
In English usage, Raven shares an earlier linguistic root with Chramn. Raven has a related form in Rayven. Raven has a related form in Ravyn.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 14
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 13
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Rowenequivalent
- Corvinequivalent
- Raveenaequivalent
- Cravenequivalent
- Branequivalent
- Brananequivalent
- Chramndoublet · English
- Hrefnaequivalent
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People named Raven
- Raven SaundersAmerican shot putterborn 1996
- Raven GoodwinAmerican actressborn 1992
- Raven KlaasenSouth African tennis player (born 1982)
- Raven RileyAmerican actressborn 1986
- Raven De La CroixAmerican actressborn 1947
- Raven ChaconNavajo composer and artist (born 1977)
- Raven van DorstDutch singer and television presenterborn 1984
- Raven LeilaniAmerican writerborn 1990
- Raven JacksonAmerican filmmaker and television writer (born 1990)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Raven, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Diamond
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Gardenia
“resembling the sweetsmelling flower”
>99% girls