Rainbow

Did you know?

A few things about Rainbow you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Rainbow

Rainbow Rowell

American children's writer

Choose Rainbow and your child shares a first name with Rainbow Rowell, an American children's writer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Rainbow, like who?” Rainbow Rowell's Wikipedia article is available in 23 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Rainbow Rowell on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 94,340 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Rainbow, 17 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Rainbow would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryRainbow first shows up in US birth records in 1971, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 54 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 1980, when it reached #3,069.
• 🍂TrendRainbow has slipped 1,232 places over the last five years and now sits at #6,546. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 💬MeaningIn English, Rainbow means “rainbow”.

About the name Rainbow

Rainbow is a girl name of English origin meaning “rainbow”. It has 7 letters and 2 syllables, starting with R and ending in “-bow”. US birth records list Rainbow for girls from 1971 to 2025, in 46 of those 55 years. Its best year was 1980, when it ranked #3,069 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #6,546, with 17 babies.

Origin:English names