The Master List - R

Rachel was derived from the Hebrew word rāchēl, meaning "ewe." In the Old Testament, Rachel was the favorite wife of Jacob, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. International variations include the Spanish Raquel and Israeli Rahel.

Rafael is perhaps the ultimate romantic Latino name, not a bad gift to give your son. The Raphael spelling is the original Hebrew version.

Raja is a widely-used Arabic or Sanskrit name that works for girls as well as boys. Five baby girls were named Raja and seven given the Rajah spelling in the US last year, where for boys the popularity of the spellings was reversed: 18 Raja to ten Rajah.

Rami has gained notoriety in the English-speaking world as the first name of the Oscar-nominated actor Rami Malek, whose parents immigrated to the US from Egypt. Rami also feels more approachable thanks to the stylish Remi, Romy, and Rumi. The only challenge is keeping the pronunciation on track.

Ramses was the name of several kings in Ancient Egypt, including the long-reigning Ramses II, known as Ramses the Great. Unfortuntely, some may associate it with the condom brand name.

A surname with potential as a first — Ramsey was given to a little over 100 baby boys in 2022.

Raoul, with its unique three-vowel middle, rolls off the tongue in an appealing way. Raoul is one of the French names that sounds infinitely more romantic and attractive than the somewhat harsh English version Ralph.

A title of the Hindu sun god, made cross-culturally famous by sitar player Ravi Shankar.

Provocative word name that may strike the right chord for an adventurous baby namer.

Many parents prefer this spelling of Rebecca, used in some versions of the Bible. Still, it's slipped considerably since its heyday in the eighties and nineties.

No one will ever forget it. But Remember as a name came over on the Mayflower, so it has deep history as well as modern potential.

This soft-yet-sturdy Biblical name belonged to Moses’ father-in-law (also called Jethro) and was the second middle name of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Reverie is a strong-sounding word for an ethereal, dreamlike state -- a perfect contrast and meaning for a word that intends to become a first name. Popular mommy blogger Rebecca Woolf of Girls Gone Child named one of her twin daughters Reverie, setting off a groundswell of interest.

A musical name that is undeniably cool and, well, rhythmic. Its biggest challenge may be the spelling. Well, maybe not the biggest challenge. Save this one for a middle name.

Now that it's no longer fashionable for girls, Robin is rising for boys again. Robin Hood, Robin Williams, Christopher Robin, and Robin the Boy Wonder are all male namesakes, after all. It reentered the US Top 1000 boys names in 2015 for the first time since 1999 and continues to bounce around the lower end of the Top 1000.

An earthy rock'n'roll name with multiple origins. The Roc was a giant bird in Middle Eastern legend.

Given that Rome is arguably the most important city in European history, it has been used as a first name remarkably little. However, Roman is now in the Top 100, so it was only a matter of time before parents started looking toward the city's actual name.

He was the original Roman, Remus's twin and a founder of Rome. But parents attracted to this name are advised to read the legend first. Romulus does have some less than savory characteristics, including killing his twin brother and making Rome in his own image, and is later deified as Quinnius. Romy and Quinn might make good twin names.

Ronan is the compelling legendary name of twelve Irish and Scottish saints that is now drawing some deserved attention; this cousin of the ascending Roman and Rowan was chosen by actor Daniel Day-Lewis and his writer-director wife Rebecca Miller in 1998, and more recently by actress Catherine Bell.

Fairly popular a hundred years ago but out of sight now, the quirky Roscoe deserves a place on every adventurous baby-namer's long list. It joins Rufus, Roman, Remy, Romulus, and Ray as one of the R names that sound fresh again after too many years of Robert, Richard, and Ronald.