Ray is the short form of Raymond, a Germanic name made of ragin, "counsel", and mund, "protector", so roughly "wise protector"; it also reads as the English word for a "beam of light". Ray Charles and Ray Bradbury stand for the name's mid-century heyday in America. Ray ranked number 517 in 2000, which is also its peak in this century, and has settled around number 750 since, ranking number 792 in 2025.