UK name, mostly boys
Raffy
A diminutive form of the Spanish name Rafael meaning "God has healed".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Raffy is mostly registered for boys in the UK records. People looking for Raffy popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1053, with 28 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2024, with 28 births.
This profile covers 142 England and Wales registrations across 11 recorded years from 2012 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
Raffy is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.
We estimate that about 141 living people in the UK are called Raffy. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Raffy ranked #1053 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 28 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2024, when 28 boys were registered as Raffy.
- • About 141 living people in the UK are estimated to have Raffy as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
- • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 95.3% of Raffy registrations are for boys.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1053
2024
Births in 2024
28
Latest year
Peak year
2024
28 births
Estimated living
141
2026
Gender
Boy and girl registrations for Raffy
In England and Wales birth records, Raffy has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 95.3% of registrations are for boys and 4.7% are for girls.
These figures use the sex categories in the published baby-name files. They are useful for spotting how the name is used at registration, but they are not a live measure of gender identity or everyone living with the name today.
Raffy registered for boys
- Ranked #1,053 in 2024
- 28 boys registered in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (28 births)
Raffy registered for girls
- Ranked #4,709 in 2023
- 4 girls registered in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (4 births)
Meaning
What does Raffy mean?
The name Raffy is derived from the Hebrew name Raphael, which means "God has healed" or "God's healing". The name Raphael is composed of the Hebrew elements "rapha" meaning "to heal" and "el" meaning "God".
The name Raphael has its roots in Jewish tradition and the Hebrew Bible. It is the name of one of the seven archangels mentioned in the Book of Tobit, a deuterocanonical book in the Catholic and Orthodox Christian scriptures. In this book, Raphael is described as a healer and a guide.
The earliest recorded use of the name Raphael dates back to the 3rd century BC. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Rabbi Raphael ben Yechiyl, a Jewish scholar from the 12th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Raphael or its variations. One of the most famous is the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520), renowned for his extraordinary paintings such as "The School of Athens" and "The Sistine Madonna".
Another prominent figure was Raphael Holinshed (c. 1525-1580), an English chronicler best known for his work "Holinshed's Chronicles", which served as a source for many of Shakespeare's plays.
In the world of literature, Raphael was the name of an angel in John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost" (1667). This character played a significant role as a messenger and guide in the celestial realm.
The name Raphael also appears in the Bible, specifically in the Book of Tobit. In this story, the archangel Raphael accompanies Tobias on a journey and helps him overcome various challenges.
Other notable individuals bearing the name Raphael include Raphael Lemkin (1900-1959), a Polish lawyer who coined the term "genocide" and was instrumental in establishing it as a crime under international law, and Raphael Patai (1910-1996), a Hungarian-Jewish anthropologist and historian known for his studies on Jewish culture and history.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Raffy over time
The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Raffy in England and Wales, from 2012 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Raffy, the clearest high point is 2024. The latest England and Wales figure is 28 births in 2024, compared with 28 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raffy by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Raffy was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #1284 | 115 | 5 |
| 2010s | #3964 | 27 | 6 |
Related
Names similar to Raffy
- Ryan 68,692
- Riley 37,992
- Robert 27,462
- Reuben 25,122
- Rhys 24,418
- Reece 24,329
- Rory 21,870
- Roman 16,609
- Ronnie 16,445
- Reggie 14,684
- Rowan 14,371
- Ralph 8,892
FAQ
Raffy: questions and answers
How popular is the name Raffy in the UK right now?
In 2024, Raffy was ranked #1053 for boys in England and Wales, with 28 births registered.
When was Raffy most popular?
The peak year on record was 2024, with 28 babies registered as Raffy in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Raffy?
A diminutive form of the Spanish name Rafael meaning "God has healed".
How many people are called Raffy in the UK?
A total of 142 babies have been registered as Raffy across the 11 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.