Rafi
Rafi is a male given name of Armenian and Arabic origin. It is one of the names of Allah, stemming from the Arabic verb rafaʿa (رَفَعَ), meaning "to lift, to raise ". It is distinct from another male name, Rafi. Other common transcriptions include "Rafee", "Rafie", "Rafay" and "Raffy".
Meaning & Origin of Rafi
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Rafi is a male given name of Armenian and Arabic origin. It is one of the names of Allah, stemming from the Arabic verb rafaʿa (رَفَعَ), meaning "to lift, to raise ". It is distinct from another male name, Rafi. Other common transcriptions include "Rafee", "Rafie", "Rafay" and "Raffy".
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Rafi
Rafi first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1974, with 9 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2024, when 38 Rafis were born — ranking #3,149 that year. As of 2026, Rafi ranks #3,343 for baby boys with 36 births, rising sharply (+36% over the past five years). In total, more than 762 Rafis have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1970s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Rafi
Phonetically similar names — useful when Rafi 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 Rafi
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About the name Rafi
Rafi is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1974 and has accumulated 762 births in the dataset. Rafi's peak popularity came in 2024 when it ranked #3,149. Use the chart and map above to compare Rafi's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2024 →
- Names of the 2020s →
- Names starting with "R" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
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.