Rafferty is a moderately popular boys' name in England & Wales, ranking #278 in 2017 with 187 recorded births. The name reached its all-time peak in 2023 with 298 births ranking #172. In 2017, approximately 1 in every 1,727 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.