Raven

Raven is a unisex given name in the English language. In the United States of America, the name is more commonly used as a feminine name, and has ranked amongst the top 1,000 feminine names given to baby girls since 1977.

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Old English hræfn (Mercian), hrefn; hræfn (Northumbrian, West Saxon), from Proto-Germanic *khrabanaz (source also of Old Norse hrafn, Danish ravn, Dutch raaf, Old High German hraban, German Rabe "raven," Old English hroc "rook"), from PIE root *ker- (2), imitative of harsh sounds (source also of Latin crepare "to creak, clatter," cornix "crow," corvus "raven;" Greek korax "raven," korone "crow;" Old Church Slavonic kruku "raven;" Lithuanian krauklys "crow"). Raven mythology shows considerable homogeneity throughout the whole area [northern regions of the northern hemisphere] in spite of differences in detail. The Raven peeps forth from the mists of time and the thickets of mythology, as a bird of slaughter, a storm bird, a sun and fire bird, a messenger, an oracular figure and a craftsman or culture hero. [Edward A. Armstrong, "The Folklore of Birds," 1958]Old English also used hræmn, hremm. The raven standard was the flag of the Danish Vikings. The Quran connects the raven with Cain's murder of Abel; but in Christianity the bird plays a positive role in the stories of St. Benedict, St. Paul the Hermit, St. Vincent, etc. It was anciently believed to live to great old age, but the ancients also believed it wanting in parental care. The vikings, like Noah, were said to have used the raven to discover land. "When uncertain of their course they let one loose, and steered the vessel in his track, deeming that the land lay in the direction of his flight; if he returned to the ship, it was supposed to be at a distance" [Charles Swainson, "The Folk Lore and Provincial Names of British Birds," London, 1886].

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Derived from the vocabulary word raven which denotes a large, black bird of the crow family. Bird name Raven, once a symbol of pride for both African-American and Wiccan parents, is finding new life as a superhero name.

Hrafn

Popularity	Name	Birth Year	Description
1	Raven Riley	1986	American pornographic actress
2	Raven Goodwin	1992	American actress
3	Marion Raven	1984	Norwegian singer
4	Raven Alexis	1987	American pornographic actress
5	Raven Klaasen	1982	South African tennis player
6	Raven De La Croix	1947	American actress
7	Sarah Raven	1963	British gardener
8	Elsa Raven	1929	Actress
9	Eddy Raven	1944	American singer
10	Raven Ramirez
11	Manitou Raven
12	Red Raven		Marvel Universe
13	Peter H. Raven	1936	Botanist
14	Night Raven		Fictional character
15	Simon Raven	1927	British writer
16	Raven Wilkinson	1935	First African American woman to dance for a major classical ballet company
17	Raven Villanueva		Filipino actress
18	Charlotte Raven	1969	British writer
19	Raven Grimassi	1951	American occultist
20	Cake Man Raven	1967	American businessman
21	John Carlyle Raven	1902	British psychologist
22	Mike Raven	1924	British artist
23	Little Raven	1820	Arapaho chief
24	Raven Davis	1975
25	Cliff Raven	1932	American tattoo artist
26	Lynn Raven	1971	American writer
27	Raven Saunders	1996	American female shot putter
28	Abbe Raven		TV executive
29	Raven Chacon	1977	American composer and artist
30	Bertram Raven	1926	American psychologist
31	Raven Tao		Hong Kong model and host
32	Arlene Raven	1944	American art historian
33	Vincent Raven	1859	British mechanical engineer
34	Charles E. Raven	1885	British theologian
35	Raven Quinn	1984	American singer
36	Raven Rockette	1994	American pornographic actor
37	Raven		Superhero character who first appeared in Sure-Fire Comics
38	Eran Raven	1974	American mentalist
39	Raven Baxter		Fictional character
40	Clara Raven	1909	American physician
41	Eduard Gustav Ludwig von Raven	1807	German soldier
42	Raven Barber	1991
43	John Albert Raven	1941	British botanist
44	Paul Raven	1970	English footballer
45	Nancy Raven	1872	Last Speaker of the Natchez language
46	Raven Oak	1977	American singer and author
47	Jon Raven	2000	Welsh writer
48	Michael Raven	1938	Musician/Writer
49	Ernst Raven	1804	American settler
50	Raven Henley	1986	German guitarist
51	Raven I. McDavid, Jr.	1911	American linguist
52	Scarlett Raven	1986
53	Andrew Raven	1959	British conservationist
54	Brittainey Raven	1988	American basketball player
55	The Raven		Web television, Internet radio, and Citizen journalism pioneer
56	Kenan Raven	1969	Dutch actor
57	John Samuel Raven	1829	British artist
58	Robert Raven	1960	Australian arachnologist
59	Raven Freiherr von Barnekow	1897	German flying ace
60	Luis Raven	1968	Venezuelan baseball player
61	Raging Raven		Fictional character
62	Travis Raven	1922	American football player and coach
63	William Raven	1756	English master mariner, naval officer and merchant
64	Kathleen Raven	1910	British nurse, matron, government health official, health care engineer and educational philanthropist
65	David Raven		British actor
66	Raven Keyes		American reiki master
67	Angelica Raven	1983	American pornographic actress
68	Francis Raven	1914	Cryptographer
69	Maarten Raven	1953	Dutch egyptologist
70	Frederick Edward Raven	1837
71	Vulcan Raven		Character in Metal Gear
72	Raven Mimura		Artist
73	Robin Raven	1962	Writer
74	Anneke Raven	1955	Dutch politician
75	Corvida raven
76	Wolfram Raven	1924	German journalist and author
77	Julius A. Raven	1918	United States Navy Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal recipient
78	James Raven	1908	Soccer player
79	Demetra Raven	1991	American actress
80	Herbord von Raven
81	Werner von Raven	1875	German physician
82	Jakob Raven	1514
83	John Raven	1851	English cricketer
84	Otto von Raven	1778
85	Björn Raven	1975	Dutch association football player
86	Edward Raven		New Zealand water polo player
87	Reginald Raven	1884	English cricketer
88	Charles Edmund Raven	1876	Canadian politician
89	Ad Raven	1955	Dutch association football player
90	Wilhelm von Raven	1770
91	John James Raven	1833	English antiquarian and campanologist
92	Mathilde Raven	1817	German writer
93	Dirck Albertsz Raven
94	Ulrich von Raven	1767
95	Emma Raven
96	Raven Stewart		Canadian child actress
97	Raven von Barnekow
98	Dennis Raven	1967