How popular is the baby name Rafer in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Rafer.

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Popularity of the baby name Rafer


Posts that mention the name Rafer

Where did the baby name Rafer come from in 1961?

American athlete Rafer Johnson

Rafer Lewis Johnson, born in Texas in 1935, competed in the decathlon at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. He won the gold medal with a record-breaking 8,392 points.

He later said, “I never want to go through that again — never.”

The next year, the baby name Rafer appeared in the U.S. baby name data for the very first time:

  • 1963: unlisted
  • 1962: unlisted
  • 1961: 8 baby boys named Rafer [debut]
  • 1960: unlisted
  • 1959: unlisted

Later the same year, a TV documentary called The Rafer Johnson Story premiered — this could have influenced the usage of the name as well.

The name never became a mainstay on the list, but it has reappeared a few times. One of those times was in 1968, the year Rafer Johnson and several other men caught and disarmed Sirhan Sirhan moments after he shot presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles.

So how did Rafer Johnson get his name? Here’s how he explained it in an interview from 2003:

“When my dad was in the fourth grade, one of his best friends was killed,” Johnson said. “When my dad went to the funeral, he found out that this kid, who everyone called Louis, was actually named Rafer. So my dad decided, in fourth grade, he was going to name his first son Rafer.”

Do you like the name Rafer?

Sources:

Image: Rafer Johnson 1960

Baby names you can type with one hand: Carter, Tessa, John, Poppy

hands typing on a laptop

When you sign your first name, you use one hand. But when you type it, chances are you need to use both hands — even if your name is a short as Emma, Gus or Ty.

Have you ever wondered which names can be touch-typed on the standard QWERTY keyboard with one hand only? Me too, so I came up with some lists…

Left-handed baby names

  • Ace, Ada, Adeva, Afra, Aqsa, Ara, Arda, Ardra, Artra, Asa, Astra, Astraea, Astrea, Atef, Ava, Awa, Aza, Azeeza, Azza
  • Babette, Barbara, Barrett, Baxter, Bess, Bette, Brad, Brett
  • Cade, Caesar, Cara, Carter, Casara, Case, Cass, Cedar, Ceres, Cesar, Cresta
  • Dara, Dasza, Dave, Dawes, Dax, Deatra, Debra, Dee, Dessa, Dexter, Drew
  • Ece, Ed, Edgar, Edward, Eevee, Efe, Egas, Erva, Esta, Estes, Etta, Eva, Eve, Everard, Everett, Evette, Eze, Ezra
  • Fedde, Freeda, Fred, Fredda
  • Gage, Garret, Garrett, Gerard, Grace, Greg, Greta, Grete, Gretta
  • Rafer, Rava, Rebeca, Rebecca, Reece, Reed, Reese, Retta, Reva, Rever, Rewa, Rex
  • Sabra, Sade, Safaa, Sagar, Sage, Sara, Saras, Sardar, Stassa, Steve, Stewart, Svea, Sverre, Sveva
  • Tad, Tage, Taggart, Ted, Tara, Tate, Tera, Teresa, Tess, Tessa, Tex, Trace, Tracee, Trava
  • Vada, Varda, Varvara, Vera, Verree, Vesta, Vester
  • Wade, Wafa, Ward, Wes
  • Xerra, Xerxes
  • Zada, Zara, Zed, Zera

How funny is it that Dexter, which comes directly from the Latin word for “right,” is typed with the left hand only?

Right-handed baby names

  • Holli, Holly
  • Io
  • Jill, Ji-Min, Jim, Jimi, Jimmy, Jin, Jo, John, Johnny, Jon, Joni, Joy, Juho, Juli, Julio, Jun, Juni, Juno
  • Kiki, Kiko, Kilik, Kim, Kimi, Kimiko, Kimmy, Kimo, Kin, Kip, Kipp, Kippy, Kiyoko, Kiyomi, Kojo, Kollin, Kumiko, Kuuipo, Kyou
  • Lili, Lilly, Lilou, Lilikoi, Lily, Lin, Lino, Loki, Loni, Lonny, Lou, Lulu, Lumi, Lyn, Lynn
  • Miki, Mikki, Mikko, Milly, Milo, Mimi, Min, Minh, Minokimin, Miyu, Molly, Momoko
  • Nik, Nikhil, Niki, Nikki, Niko, Nikol, Nikon, Niilo, Nolon, Nuno
  • Olli, Olujimi, Om
  • Phil, Philip, Phillip, Philo, Pio, Pliny, Plum, Pol, Polly, Pono, Poppy
  • Umiko, Umu
  • Yoko, Yuko, Yumi, Yumiko

I realize that QWERTY “handedness” is not a major baby-naming factor for most people, but I do think it would be cute to pair a one-handed name with another one-handed name — maybe a surname (Teresa Garza, Phillip Hill) or a twin name (Edward & John, Grace & Lily, Zara & Milo). What do you think?

Image by Amelia Bartlett from Unsplash