The Raia surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,559 people carried this name — #17,927 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 188,700 people counted. That is up 7% from 1,457 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Raia surname
From the Sicilian surname, from raia (“smilax”) and raja (“ray”), both from Latin raia. As an Arabic surname, from راية (rāya, “flag”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Raia» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 278 people named Raia live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 125 people named Raia.
Most of them — 76 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 11 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
104 people named Raia live in Switzerland.
They live in 11 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Solothurn.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 92 people named Raia live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Liège.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
Who carried it
People named Raia,
with a public archive behind them.
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Christopher Raia 1976– · special agent -
Eduard Raia 1911–1982 · military personnel
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Vito Raia 1927–1991 · politician
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Vito Raia 1927–1991 · politician
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Silvano Raia 1930–2026 · scientist
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Cláudia Raia 1966– · actor
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Raia.
- Rahal 614 · U.S. census
- Rahier 210 · U.S. census
- Rahim 2,601 · U.S. census
- Rahm 1,624 · U.S. census
- Rahmani 1,056 · U.S. census
- Rai 5,295 · U.S. census
- Raimond 182 · U.S. census
- Raimondi 2,418 · U.S. census
- Raimondo 819 · U.S. census
- Rain 915 · U.S. census
- Raina 641 · U.S. census
- Raine 2,109 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Raia is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.