Rafferty is a distinctive boys' name in England & Wales, ranking #688 in 2004 with 34 recorded births. The name reached its all-time peak in 2023 with 298 births ranking #172. In 2004, approximately 1 in every 9,073 boys born was named Rafferty. FALLING Recent data shows the name is currently falling.
Rafferty comes from an Irish surname derived from the given name Rabhartach. Behind the Name gives the older meaning as "flood tide", which gives the name a vivid natural image.
Like many surname-style first names, Rafferty entered given-name use through family-name tradition. Its recent appeal owes a lot to the rise of distinctive Irish surname names in English-speaking countries.