Prayer
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ancestor.
Meaning & Origin of Prayer
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ancestor.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Etymology
The Story of Prayer
As a girl name
Prayer first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a girl name in 2000, with 7 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2019: 13 births, good for #8,136 nationwide. About 43% of every Prayer on record arrived during the 2020s, its defining decade. Prayer last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 13 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 96 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 2000s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
Prayer first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a boy name in 2021, with 6 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2024: 8 births, good for #8,947 nationwide. Prayer last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 8 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 14 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 2020s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Prayer
Phonetically similar names — useful when Prayer is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Prayer
What does the name Prayer mean?
How popular is Prayer in 2026?
When was Prayer most popular?
Is Prayer a unisex name?
What names go well with Prayer?
About the name Prayer
Prayer is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 2000 and has accumulated 96 births in the dataset. Prayer's peak popularity came in 2019 when it ranked #8,136. Use the chart and map above to compare Prayer's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2019 →
- Names of the 2010s →
- Names starting with "P" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.