| Aron Ra | Aron Ra is an atheist activis… | 1962 |
| Sun Ra | American jazz composer and ba… | 1914–1993 |
| Dominic Raab | British politician (born 1974) | 1974 |
| Theo de Raadt | systems software engineer | 1968 |
| Nancy Rabalais | Marine biologist | |
| John Rabe | German businessman | 1882–1950 |
| Francois Rabelais | major French Renaissance writ… | 1494–1553 |
| Isidor Isaac Rabi | American physicist | 1898–1988 |
| Yitzhak Rabin | Israeli politician, statesman… | 1922–1995 |
| Nahum Rabinovitch | Israeli rabbi | 1928–2020 |
| James Rachels | American philosopher | 1941–2003 |
| Sergei Rachmaninoff | Russian composer, pianist, an… | 1873–1943 |
| Jean Racine | French dramatist | 1639–1699 |
| Carola Rackete | German merchant navy captain | 1988 |
| Gustav Radbruch | German politician | 1878–1949 |
| Ann Radcliffe | English author and a pioneer … | 1764–1823 |
| Daniel Radcliffe | English actor | 1989 |
| Arthur W. Radford | United States naval aviator | 1896–1973 |
| Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | Indian philosopher and states… | 1888–1975 |
| Lepa Radić | Serbian partisan | 1925–1943 |
| Clementine von Radics | | |
| Raymond Radiguet | French writer | 1903–1923 |
| Joshua Radin | American musician | 1974 |
| Kris Radish | American novelist | 1953 |
| Ronnie Radke | American singer | 1983 |
| Gilda Radner | American comedian | 1946–1989 |
| Henrique Capriles Radonski | Venezuelan politician and law… | 1972 |
| Bob Rae | Canadian politician | 1948 |
| Issa Rae | American actress and writer | 1985 |
| Erich Raeder | German naval officer and Groß… | 1876–1960 |
| Raël | Author of Raëlism and founder… | 1946 |
| Gerry Rafferty | Scottish singer and songwriter | 1947–2011 |
| Stamford Raffles | British statesman who founded… | 1781–1826 |
| Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani | Iranian politician, Shi'a cle… | 1934–2017 |
| George Raft | American actor | 1901–1980 |
| Bill Raftery | American basketball player-co… | 1943 |
| Maria Raha | American journalist | 1972 |
| Marie Fabien Raharilamboniaina | | 1968 |
| A. R. Rahman | Indian singer and composer | 1966 |
| Arifur Rahman | Award-winning Cartoonist, Ani… | 1984 |
| Sheikh Mujibur Rahman | Bengali revolutionary, founde… | 1920–1975 |
| Tunku Abdul Rahman | Malaysian politician | 1903–1990 |
| Zia Haider Rahman | British novelist | |
| Ziaur Rahman | President of Bangladesh | 1936–1981 |
| Hanna Rahmé | Roman Catholic bishop | 1960 |
| Karl Rahner | German Catholic theologian | 1904–1984 |
| Lala Lajpat Rai | Indian author and politician | 1865–1928 |
| Vinod Rai | Comptroller and Auditor Gener… | 1948 |
| Howard Raiffa | American academic | 1924–2016 |
| Sam Raimi | American film director, produ… | 1959 |
| Craig Raine | Poet | 1944 |
| Kathleen Raine | poet, critic, translator | 1908–2003 |
| Luise Rainer | German-born Austrian and Amer… | 1910–2014 |
| Joseph Hayne Rainey | politician | 1832–1887 |
| Claude Rains | English-born actor | 1889–1967 |
| Ebrahim Raisi | Iranian president | 1960 |
| Dharma Raja | Maharaja of Travancore | 1724–1798 |
| Yuvan Shankar Raja | Indian musician | 1979 |
| C. Rajagopalachari | Political leader | 1878–1972 |
| S. S. Rajamouli | Indian film director | 1973 |
| Balachandra Rajan | Indian writer | 1920–2009 |
| Raghuram G. Rajan | Indian economist | 1963 |
| Mahinda Rajapaksa | Prime Minister of Sri Lanka | 1945 |
| N. S. Rajaram | Indian mathematician | 1943–2019 |
| Sinnathamby Rajaratnam | Early life | 1915–2006 |
| Maryam Rajavi | Iranian politician | 1953 |
| Massoud Rajavi | Iranian politician | 1948–2003 |
| Rajinikanth | Indian actor | 1950 |
| Rajneesh | Godman and leader of the Rajn… | 1931–1990 |
| Jibril Rajoub | Palestinian sharamit | 1953 |
| Mariano Rajoy | Spanish politician | 1955 |
| V. T. Rajshekar | Indian conspiracy theorist | 1932 |
| David Rakoff | writer | 1964–2012 |
| Adam Rakunas | American author | |
| Walter Raleigh | English aristocrat, writer, p… | 1554–1618 |
| Janette Rallison | American writer | 1966 |
| Aron Ralston | Mountain climber, autobiograp… | 1975 |
| Pandit Lekh Ram | Hindu leader | 1858–1897 |
| Edi Rama | Albanian politician | 1964 |
| Rāmabhadrācārya | Hindu religious leader | 1950 |
| V.S. Ramachandran | Neuroscientist | 1951 |
| Said Ramadan | Egyptian political activist | 1926–1995 |
| Tariq Ramadan | Swiss muslim scholar | 1962 |
| Anbumani Ramadoss | Indian politician | 1968 |
| Ramakrishna | Indian mystic and religious p… | 1836–1886 |
| Venkatraman Ramakrishnan | Nobel prize winning American … | 1952 |
| C. V. Raman | Indian physicist | 1888–1970 |
| Varadaraja V. Raman | American physicist | 1932 |
| Ramanuja | Hindu philosopher, exegete of… | 1017–1137 |
| Srinivasa Ramanujan | Indian mathematician | 1887–1920 |
| Cyril Ramaphosa | 5th President of South Africa | 1952 |
| Periyar E. V. Ramasamy | Tamil politician and social r… | 1879–1973 |
| Anantanand Rambachan | Hindu studies scholar | 1951 |
| Ramban | Spanish rabbi and scholar | 1194–1270 |
| Natacha Rambova | American film personality and… | 1897–1966 |
| Jean-Philippe Rameau | French composer and music the… | 1683–1764 |
| Jairam Ramesh | Indian politician | 1954 |
| Manny Ramirez | Dominican-American baseball p… | 1972 |
| Richard Ramirez | American serial killer | 1960–2013 |
| Simon Ramo | Father of the ICBM | 1913–2016 |
