Humanverse

Raekwon vs Raelene

American parents have registered 2,451 Raelenes since 1880, against 2,295 Raekwons. But in 2025 it was Raekwon that was commoner, 9 babies to 6.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Raekwon against Raelene, 1880 to 2025 0 125 250 375 500 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Raekwon Raelene

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 95 years in which either name was published, Raelene for 72 years and Raekwon for 23 years. The lead changed hands 5 times.

Side by side

  Raekwon Raelene
Total US births 2,2952,451
Most in one year 45155
Babies in 2025 96
Estimated living today 2,2002,100
Median age today 2747
Peak year 19961959
Best rank 483rd boys1,450th girls
Rank in 2025 8,243rd13,208th
First recorded 19941929
Girls / boys 6 / 2,2892,451 / 0

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Raelenes alive today are over 47; half the Raekwons are over 27. That is 20 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Where each one is strongest

How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Raekwon and Raelene.