Raylan
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Meaning
variant of Rylan incorporating Ray; Rylan itself possibly from Ryland, or invented
The story
Raylan is carried in Behind the Name's community database as a variant of Rylan incorporating the diminutive Ray, and Rylan itself is hedged at the source: possibly a variant of Ryland, or an invented name inspired by names like Ryan and Riley. The name's most visible bearer is on the record too: Raylan Givens, the Deputy U.S. Marshal created by the novelist Elmore Leonard, who took the name from a real man he met in 1991; the character later reached television in Justified, which ran from 2010 to 2015. The published American record: about 73 boys in the 2000s, about 4,400 in the 2010s, the marshal's own decade, and about 2,340 so far this one. A hedged coinage, a name borrowed from a real man, and a record with a marshal standing in the middle of it.
How popular is Raylan around the world?
In the United States, 2,540 babies were named Raylan between 2020 and 2025.
Raylan is on the official records of the United States, Canada and Brazil.
United States
1 in 8,600
In the United States, 2,540 babies were named Raylan between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Raylan peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 24,000
In Canada, 15 boys named Raylan were born in 2024, ranked 1,459th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Brazil
1 in 45,000
At the 2022 census, 4,401 people in Brazil were named Raylan, ranked 2,996th, with a median age of 13.
Among people named Raylan living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 552 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
England and Wales
last on record 2024
Raylan is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
South Australia
last on record 2013
Raylan is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Raylan
Most people given the name Raylan in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Raylan deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Raylan truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Raylan fits with your family’s names and surname.
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