Rafe is a distinctive choice, ranked #247 in 2024. Your child is likely to be the only Rafe in their class.
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UK Rank 2024
#247
About the Name Rafe
Rafe is holding steady in the rankings at #247. It reached its peak of #210 in 2022 and has maintained consistent levels since — the hallmark of a name with lasting rather than trend-driven appeal. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Rafe is distinctive enough that your child will likely be the only one in both their class and their school — standing out on every register.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Rafe
Unlikely. With around 199 UK babies named Rafe per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Rafe in his class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Rafe has held a stable position around #247 for several years. It reached its recorded peak of #210 in 2022 and has maintained consistent levels since — suggesting lasting rather than trend-driven appeal.
Rafe is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Rafe include: Raja Rafe — Raja Rafe is a Syrian footballer who plays as a striker for Taliya SC, which competes in the Syrian Premier League, and is a member of the Syria national...; Rafe Stefanini — Rafe Stefanini is an old-time banjo player, fiddler, guitarist, singer, teacher, violin maker and restorer.; Rafe Mazzeo — Rafe Roys Mazzeo is an American mathematician working in differential geometry, microlocal analysis, and partial differential equations..
Rafe does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Rafes in the wild.
199
UK babies named Rafe (2024)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.1
In a school of 600
↑ 22 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Rafe
Likely around 1 other Rafe in the class
UK Popularity (1996–2024)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Rafe
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Raja Rafe is a Syrian footballer who plays as a striker for Taliya SC, which competes in the Syrian Premier League, and is a member of the Syria national football team. Rafe is Syria's all-time second goalscorer with 32 goals in 84 matches, preceded by Firas Al-Khatib.
Rafe Stefanini is an old-time banjo player, fiddler, guitarist, singer, teacher, violin maker and restorer. He was born in San Benedetto Val di Sambro, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy and grew up in Bologna.
Rafe Roys Mazzeo is an American mathematician working in differential geometry, microlocal analysis, and partial differential equations. He is currently a professor of mathematics.
Richard Rafe Champion de Crespigny, also known by his Chinese name Zhang Leifu (Chinese: 張磊夫), is an Australian sinologist and historian. He is an honorary professor in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University.
In Hebrew orthography the rafe or raphe (Hebrew: רָפֶה, pronounced [ʁaˈfe], meaning "weak, limp") is a diacritic (⟨◌ֿ⟩), a subtle horizontal overbar placed above certain letters to indicate that they are to be pronounced as fricatives. It originated with the Tiberian Masoretes as part of the extended system of niqqud (vowel points), and has the opposite meaning of dagesh, showing that one of the letters בגדכפת is to be pronounced as a fricative and not as a plosive, or (sometimes) that a consonant is not geminated; or, as the opposite to a mappiq, to show that the letters ה or א are silent (mater lectionis).