Asiel
An Arabic name meaning "lion" or "brave".
Name Census estimates that about 810 living Americans carry the first name Asiel. It is a predominantly male name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Asiel today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Asiel births was 2023 (67 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Asiel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
810
~ 1 in 423,154 Americans
Peak year
2023
67 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,785
Tracked since 1989
Gender
Gender distribution for Asiel
Out of the 817 babies given the name Asiel since 1880, 99.3% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Asiel as a male name
- Ranked #2,785 in 2024
- 46 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (67 births)
Asiel as a female name
- Ranked #15,195 in 2010
- 6 female births in 2010
- Peak: 2010 (6 births)
Popularity
Asiel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Asiel from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 340 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Asiel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Asiel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Asiels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Asiel, while New York, New Jersey, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 49 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Asiel
The name Asiel is believed to be of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical name Aziel, which means "God is my strength" or "blessed by God." It is a combination of the Hebrew words "az" (strong) and "El" (God).
This name first appeared in the Old Testament, where it was borne by one of the sons of the Levite Shemaiah. The Levites were members of the Hebrew tribe of Levi, who were responsible for various religious duties and ceremonies in ancient Israel.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Asiel can be found in the Book of 1 Chronicles, which dates back to around the 5th century BC. In this text, Asiel is listed as one of the gatekeepers of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Asiel, although the name has remained relatively uncommon. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Asiel ben Yehouda, a 12th-century Jewish scholar and philosopher from Andalusia, Spain.
In the 16th century, Asiel Diaz was a Portuguese explorer and navigator who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his famous voyage around the world. He was born in 1490 and died sometime after 1521.
Another notable Asiel was Asiel ben Solomon, a 17th-century Jewish kabbalist and rabbi from Jerusalem. He was known for his writings on mysticism and Jewish mystical traditions.
In the 19th century, Asiel Abrahams was a British historian and author who specialized in Jewish history and literature. He was born in 1843 and died in 1917.
More recently, Asiel Sandoval was a Venezuelan political activist and human rights advocate who fought against the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez in the 1950s. He was born in 1923 and died in 2006.
People
Asiel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Asiel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Asiel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Asiel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 810 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Asiel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 423,154 US residents.
Is Asiel a common name?
We classify Asiel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 817 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Asiel most popular?
The single biggest year for Asiel was 2023, when 67 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Asiel is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Asiel a male name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Asiel in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.