Azayzel
A masculine name derived from the Hebrew name Azriel, meaning "help from God."
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Azayzel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Azayzel today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Azayzel births was 2020 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Azayzel. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Azayzel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2020
5 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2020 SSA rank
#12,221
Tracked since 2020
Popularity
Azayzel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Azayzel 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 Azayzel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Azayzel
The given name Azayzel has its roots in the ancient Semitic languages, particularly in the Aramaic and Hebrew tongues. It is believed to have originated around the 5th century BCE in the regions of the Levant and Mesopotamia. The name is derived from the Aramaic word "azazel," which means "scapegoat" or "the removed one."
In Jewish tradition, Azazel is mentioned in the Book of Leviticus as a supernatural entity associated with the ritual of the scapegoat on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Some scholars suggest that Azazel may have been a ancient desert deity or a fallen angel in early Semitic mythology.
The earliest recorded use of the name Azayzel can be traced back to the 3rd century CE, when it appeared in the Babylonian Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. One notable figure from that era was Azayzel ben Shmuel, a renowned scholar and interpreter of the Mishnah, who lived in the late 2nd to early 3rd century CE.
During the Middle Ages, the name Azayzel was occasionally used among Jewish communities in the Middle East and North Africa. One notable bearer was Azayzel ibn Musa, a 9th-century Jewish philosopher and astronomer from Baghdad, who made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and astronomy.
In the 16th century, the name gained some popularity in parts of Europe, particularly among Sephardic Jewish communities. A notable figure from this time was Azayzel Abravanel, a 16th-century Portuguese Jewish philosopher and theologian, who lived from 1473 to 1551.
The name also appeared in various religious texts and works of literature throughout history, such as the apocryphal Book of Enoch, which depicts Azazel as a fallen angel who taught humanity forbidden knowledge.
Other notable individuals bearing the name Azayzel include Azayzel ben Yitzchak, a 12th-century Jewish scholar from Spain, and Azayzel al-Andalusi, a 13th-century Andalusian Jewish poet and philosopher.
While the name Azayzel has ancient roots and a rich historical and cultural significance, it has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, primarily used within certain Jewish communities and scholarly circles.
People
Azayzel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Azayzel 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
Azayzel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Azayzel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Azayzel 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Azayzel a common name?
We classify Azayzel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Azayzel most popular?
The single biggest year for Azayzel was 2020, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Azayzel is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Azayzel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Azayzel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Azayzel 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.
Is Azayzel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Azayzel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Azayzel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Azayzel as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.