Meaning & Origin
A medieval manor in Devon, England.
Raleigh is a girl's and boy's baby name of Old English origin, from the English place name and surname meaning 'roe deer's clearing' or 'red clearing,' from Old English ræge (roe deer) or rēad (red) and leah (clearing). Sir Walter Raleigh — the Elizabethan explorer and poet — gave the name its greatest historical resonance.
About 2,952 U.S. births are recorded, used across genders but increasingly as a girl's name. Raleigh is a geographic-surname hybrid with Southern American associations through the North Carolina capital.