Rachale
A feminine French name meaning "ewe", referring to a female sheep.
Name Census estimates that about 31 living Americans carry the first name Rachale. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rachale today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rachale births was 1976 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rachale. 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 Rachale. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
31
~ 1 in 11,056,592 Americans
Peak year
1976
7 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1994 SSA rank
#15,134
Tracked since 1972
Popularity
Rachale: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rachale from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 16 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Rachale remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rachale 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 Rachale during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rachale
The name Rachale is of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical name Rachel. It is believed to have originated around the 14th century BCE in the Middle East region, primarily in ancient Israel. The name Rachel is derived from the Hebrew word "רָחֵל" (rachel), which means "ewe" or "female sheep."
In the Bible, Rachel was the beloved wife of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She is an important figure in the Book of Genesis and is revered for her beauty, loyalty, and resilience. The name Rachale is a variant spelling of Rachel, likely influenced by different languages and cultural traditions over time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rachale can be found in the 12th-century work "Sefer Ha-Yashar" (The Book of the Upright), a medieval Hebrew text that retells biblical stories. In this text, the name is spelled "רחל" (Rachal), which is closer to the modern variant Rachale.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Rachale or its variants. One such figure was Rachale Musnik (1505-1580), a Jewish businesswoman and philanthropist from Krakow, Poland. She was known for her involvement in the local Jewish community and her support of charitable causes.
Another notable Rachale was Rachale Varnhagen (1785-1833), a German writer and salonnière of Jewish descent. She hosted a famous literary salon in Berlin and was a prominent figure in the intellectual circles of the time.
In the 19th century, Rachale Hirsch (1809-1892) was a German-Jewish educator and philanthropist. She founded the first Jewish girls' school in Germany and played a significant role in promoting education for Jewish women.
Rachale Bryk (1888-1942) was a Polish-Jewish artist and painter known for her portraiture and landscapes. She was a member of the influential Żydowskie Towarzystwo Krzewienia Sztuk Pięknych (Jewish Society for the Promotion of Fine Arts) in Warsaw.
Lastly, Rachale Musnikov (1888-1964) was a Russian-American artist and sculptor. She is best known for her bronze sculptures and portraits, and her works are held in collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among others.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Rachale or its variants, showcasing the rich cultural heritage and significance of this name across different eras and regions.
People
Rachale + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rachale as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rachale: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rachale?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 31 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rachale 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 11,056,592 US residents.
Is Rachale a common name?
We classify Rachale as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 33 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rachale most popular?
The single biggest year for Rachale was 1976, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rachale is about 43 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 Rachale in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rachale a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rachale in the SSA data are female. 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 Rachale still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rachale 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 Rachale 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 are named Rachale?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.