''Raven'' is a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

in the English language. While it may be given to boys and girls, it is more frequently a feminine name. In the United States of America the name has ranked among the top 1,000 names given to baby girls since 1977.

Etymology and related names

The word is the name of a bird, which is ultimately derived from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''hræfn''. As a masculine name, ''Raven'' parallels the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

'' Hrafn'', and the Old English ''*Hræfn'', which both mean "raven".. As a feminine name ''Raven'' is among several names derived from birds such as ''

Dove Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

'', ''Kestrel'' and ''Teal''.. Names derived from vocabulary words, such as the bird names mentioned, increased in popularity as feminine names in the English-speaking world during the 20th century.. The feminine given name ''Ravenna'' is thought to be derived from the name of the northern Italian city

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

. However, in some cases ''Ravenna'' may also represent a more elaborately feminine form of ''Raven''. ''Raven'' is also a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

in the English language. In some cases the surname is derived from the Old Norse and Old English personal names already mentioned. The surname may also originate from a

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

meaning 'raven', or a thieving person, or a dark-haired person, derived from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

''raven''., which cited: , for the surname "Raven". In other cases the surname is derived from a sign name. The following surnames are examples of names from which the modern surname ''Raven'' is derived: ''filius Reuene'', in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, 1086; ''le Reven'', in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, 1327; and ''atte Raven'', in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 1344. (This final surname is a sign name, which indicates that the bearer was someone who lived near a sign with a raven on it, possibly a house sign.) ''Raven'' is also a German surname derived from the

Middle Low German Middle Low German is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented in writing since about 1225–34 (). During the Hanseatic period (from about 1300 to about 1600), Mid ...

''rave'', ''raven'', meaning 'raven'. This surname originated as a nickname or from an old

personal name A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...

Cognates

;Germanic-language names of the same word-origin *''*Hræfn'' – masculine – Old English (this name is unattested). *''*Hræfning'' – masculine – Old English (a derivative of ''*Hræfn''). *''Hraban'' – masculine – a Germanic language name. *''Hrafn'' – masculine – Old Norse. *''Hraƀna'' – masculine – early Old Norse. *''Harabana'' – masculine – early Old Norse. ;Germanic-language names of the same meaning (and of non-Germanic origin) *'' Corbin'' – masculine – English (a name with several possible origins; in some cases it may be derived from ''Corbinian'', see below). *''Corbinian'' – masculine – English (possibly from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''corvus'', and

Late Latin Late Latin is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, and continuing into the 7th century in ...

''corbus'', which mean "crow", "raven"). The name is possibly a translation of Germanic personal name of a similar meaning, such as ''Hraban''.. *''Korbinian'' – masculine –

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(see above ''Corbinian'' which is the English form of this name).. ;Non-Germanic-language names with the same meaning *''Brân'' – masculine – Welsh (from Welsh ''brân'', which means "raven"). *''Bran'' – masculine – Irish (from Irish ''bran'', which means "raven")., which cited: , for the surname "Byrne". *''Branán'' – masculine – Irish (meaning "little raven")., which cited: , for the surname "Brennan". *''Branagán'' – masculine – Irish (a

double diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle som ...

of ''bran'', which means "raven").., which cited: , for the surname "Brannigan". *''Feichín'' – masculine – Irish (a diminutive of Irish ''fiach'', which means "raven").. *''Fiachna'' – masculine – Irish (from ''fiach'', which can mean both "raven" and "hunt").

Popularity and use

In the United States of America and in Britain ''Raven'' is more commonly used as a feminine than a masculine name. The name has ranked amongst the top 1,000 feminine names recorded in

Social Security card Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

applications in the US since 1977. In 2009 it was the 636th most common feminine name. As a masculine name ''Raven'' ranked amongst the top 1,000 names only in the years 1997–2002. Its highest rank was in 1999, when it was ranked the 811th most common masculine name.. In 1990 the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

undertook a study of the

1990 United States census The 1990 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 248,709,873, an increase of 9.8 percent over the 226,545,805 persons enumerated during the 1980 census. Approximatel ...

and released a sample of data concerning the most popular names. This sample consisted of 6.3 million people and was made up of 5,494 unique first names (4,275 feminine names and 1,219 masculine names). Within this sample ''Raven'' was ranked the 1,358th most common feminine name and did not even rank amongst the 1,219 masculine names..

Popularity charts

Women

* Raven Baxter, American science communicator and STEM educator *

Raven Bowens Raven Bowens is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Chanel Dupree on the NBC and Peacock soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' since 2021. Early life Bowens was born in San Diego, California, and raised in Lincoln Park. S ...

, American actress * Raven Chapman (born 1994), English professional boxer * Raven Clay (born 1990), American short hurdler * Raven Dauda (born 1973), Canadian writer and actress * Raven De La Croix (born 1947), American actress and stripper * Raven Edwards-Dowdall (born 2000), Guyanese footballer * Raven Goodwin, American actress * Raven Hail (1921–2005), Cherokee writer * Raven Halfmoon (born 1991), Caddo painter and sculptor *

Raven Johnson Raven Johnson (born March 4, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). High school career Johnson played basketball for Westlake High School in Atlanta. She played along ...

(born 2003), American basketball player * Raven Leilani (born 1990), American writer * Raven Oak (born 1977), American author and artist * Raven-Symoné Pearman-Maday (born 1985), American actress, singer, and director * Raven Quinn, American musician, singer, and songwriter * Raven Riley, Italian-American pornographic actress * Raven Sinclair, Canadian child welfare critic and professor * Raven Tao, Eurasian model, media personality and entrepreneur * Raven B. Varona (born 1990), American photographer * Raven Villanueva (born 1979), Filipino actress * Raven Wilkinson (1935–2018), American dancer

Men

* Raven Barber (born 1991), American professional basketball player *

Raven Bush Syd Arthur were an English psychedelic rock band, formed in Canterbury in 2003 by brothers frontman Liam and bassist Joel Magill, drummer Fred Rother and violinist Raven Bush. Rother was replaced by the Magills' younger brother Josh in 2016. ...

, Member rock band Syd Arthur *

Raven Chacon Raven Chacon (born 1977) is a Diné composer, musician and artist. Born in Fort Defiance, Arizona within the Navajo Nation, Chacon became the first Native American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music, for his '' Voiceless Mass'' in 2022. He has ...

(born 1977), American composer, musician and artist *

Raven Greene Raven Avery Greene (born February 2, 1995) is an American former professional American football, football Safety (gridiron football position), safety. He played college football at James Madison Dukes football, James Madison and signed with the G ...

(born 1995), American professional football safety *

Raven Grimassi Gary Charles Erbe (April 12, 1951 – March 10, 2019), known as Raven Grimassi, was an American writer. He wrote over 20 books, including topics on Wicca, , witchcraft and neo-paganism. He popularized , the religious practice of witchcraft with ro ...

(1951–2019), American author *

Raven Klaasen Raven Klaasen ( ; born 16 October 1982) is a South African professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He achieved his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 7 in August 2019, and has won 19 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, includi ...

(born 1982), South African professional tennis player * Raven Kumar Krishnasamy, Malaysian politician * Raven Maize (born 1964), American DJ and music producer * M. Raven Metzner, American screenwriter and producer * Raven I. McDavid Jr. (1911–1984), American linguist *

Raven Mimura Raven Mimura is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. Early life and education Raven received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design. He spent a year teaching art and building his portfolio ...

, American artist * Raven Sturt (born 1993), American chess grandmaster * Raven Freiherr von Barnekow (1897–1941), German World War I flying ace credited with eleven aerial victories

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raven English-language masculine given names Masculine given names English-language feminine given names Feminine given names English-language unisex given names Given names derived from animals Given names derived from birds