Raiden

As one of the oldest living Rayden's i know of, id like to add my thoughts, Im from New Zealand with no Japanese association apart from my grandfather fighting against them in the pacific. I was born in 1978 and until 6 years ago i had never met another Rayden in any country id been to or lived in. As i am pre Mortal Combat the only thing my name stood for, was me. Since Mortal combat, the meaning of Thunder and lightening god started to appear, as a teenage boy i was happy about it haha. My mother said she knew an elderly man with my name, and just liked it. Aiden hadnt been used at that point, it came around 80s. After reading Raiden's Japanese meaning and attributes i can honestly say i fit the description, I'm big, strong, thunderous voice, oddly always zapping people from static haha. Im also very empathetic, sensitive and self aware, have an IQ of 127, and an analytical mind, I'm trustworthy, honest and witty. I have always felt singular having a rare name, which has good and bad components. Expect your Rayden child to sensitive, a lone wolf and wanting to prove their worth.
My friends would say I'm on the spectrum but in the best ways haha
If you name your child Rayden you offer them a uniqueness to be different, but the pressures of being most likely, the only one!
I hope my input helps!

Americans, please stop using this name. It's not some tryndee -aden name. Actual Japanese people do not name their sons (or daughters) Raiden. Using it on an American child, especially one who isn't of Japanese descent, smacks of cultural appropriation.

I love the name and either pronunciation is fine. I love the meaning too.

Decent when pronounced correctly and used in the Japanese context, ugly and trendy when used as another -den name. It also sounds like "raidin'" that way.

My son is almost 2 and his name is Raiden pronounced RAY-DEN and I love his name! We chose it due to trying to fit both his dad's name and my name into his name somehow. Yes I love the name Aiden, but I think it shouldn't matter what your heritage is. Name your child what you want. People are very rude for saying that you are brain dead if you choose a name for someone that you like. Also stating that because of this name the child will be made fun of is completely inaccurate. I have heard nothing but positive comments on his name!

My son's name is Raiden. I had no idea at the time (2006) that so many were naming their children Jayden, Kayden, Hayden, Braiden, Aiden... it's crazy. Either way, I think his name stands out, and we like it.

The person saying you have to be Japanese to use it or you're brain dead is rude. I had a Greek name myself but I'm not Greek. That kind of thinking is just wrong and racist. I thought people were past that in this day and age. I think it's a great name with either pronunciation. I don't think it matters if you pronounce it either way because a lot of people pronounce lots of names their own way in their own accent so why should Raiden be any different. I think it's a great name for either gender. I think I would use this as a middle name as my first baby has the name Taryn which is Welsh for thunder. I think I would like to use a name with a similar meaning for my second child.

My name is Raiden and a lot of people think it is a very odd name to have for a Polish person. But I am proud of it and not a lot of people have the name.

If you're Japanese or have Japanese ancestry: Go for it.

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If you're just following the awful "-aden" trend: You're braindead.

The name Raiden is so fawesome! Makes me think of the Mortal Kombat character (who's name is pronounced as "RAY-dən") and the Metal Gear character. :D.

My daughter's name is Raiden, she's almost 8. He was my favorite character in the video game Mortal Kombat. I hear the name once in awhile. My guess is that my generation will have children with this name as my daughter has a boy in her class named Rayden.

My daughter is named Raiden (Ray-den). She is 6 now. The only issues we have had was confusing other -den names with hers or people not understanding what name we are saying. We have not met anyone (yet) with the same name, although her teacher told us there was another Raiden in the school.
We love the name!

I think this name is pretty cool, and I like both RYE-den and RAY-den pronunciations.

It's really unfortunate that a strong name bearing the meaning of "thunder god" has to sound like all these other trendy names such as Jayden, Aiden, Brayden, Caden, Hayden, etc. Now, people will think it falls in the same category as well.

This name would be nice if there wasn't 100 popular names that rhyme with it.

I don't think using this name in America is a good idea. It sounds too much like 'raiding', and it rhymes with very typical and trendy names that plenty of kids are going to have in school.

Good name. But I won't use it for a child because I'm afraid he'll be made fun of like, "Oh! It's the thunder god Raiden! Where's Kitana, Liu Kang, and Kung Lao, dear thunder god?" Then again, I like the name, but I won't use for a child in the future.

But people outside of Japan probably wouldn't know much about Raiden the thunder god. The main problem I see with this name is that everyone would mispronounce it as RAY-den, and not RYE-den.

I use Raidyn for a girl.

No! The Aidan/-aden people are going to take this one over. Can you imagine the classrooms full of Aidans, Jadens, Cadens, Raidens, Haydens, and similar two-syllable names like Payton and Grayson? It'll be horrifying for teachers in a few years, I'm sure of it.

I really love Raiden. Rayden, Raydan and Raidan. Love those spellings too.

I like this name a lot, but I prefer to see it spelled as Rayden.

I personally love this name. But I think it could be used for a female as well, just judging by the way it sounds. I love the sound of the name. I'm using it in one of my stories, but I think I will spell it Raidyn.