Racheal
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "ewe", or female lamb.
Name Census estimates that about 9,416 living Americans carry the first name Racheal. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Racheal today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Racheal births was 1985 (388 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Racheal. 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
9.4K
~ 1 in 36,401 Americans
Peak year
1985
388 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2023 SSA rank
#14,747
Tracked since 1910
Popularity
Racheal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Racheal from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 3,374 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Racheal 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 Racheal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Racheals live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Racheal, while Nevada, Nebraska, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 192 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Racheal
The name Racheal is a variant spelling of the Hebrew name Rachel, which means "ewe" or "female sheep" in Hebrew. The name has its origins in ancient Semitic languages and cultures of the Middle East, dating back several millennia.
The name Rachel appears in the Old Testament of the Bible as the wife of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. In the Book of Genesis, Rachel is described as being beautiful and the favored wife of Jacob, though she initially struggles with infertility before giving birth to Joseph.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Racheal can be found in ancient Hebrew inscriptions and texts from around the 6th century BC. The name was commonly used among Jewish communities in the ancient world and continued to be popular throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era.
Notable historical figures with the name Racheal or its variant spellings include Rachael Revah, a 16th century Portuguese-Jewish poet and scholar, and Rachel de Senepart, a 17th century French aristocrat and mistress of Louis XIV. In more recent times, famous individuals with this name include Rachel Carson (1907-1964), the American marine biologist and author of the influential book "Silent Spring," and Rachel Weisz (born 1970), the British actress known for her roles in films such as "The Constant Gardener" and "The Mummy" series.
Other notable individuals with the name Racheal or its variants include Rachael Ray (born 1968), the American celebrity chef and television personality, and Rachel Maddow (born 1973), the American political commentator and television host. Additionally, the name has been used by various fictional characters in literature and popular culture, such as Rachel Green from the sitcom "Friends" and Rachel Zane from the legal drama "Suits."
People
Racheal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Racheal 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
Racheal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Racheal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,416 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Racheal 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 36,401 US residents.
Is Racheal a common name?
We classify Racheal as "Rare". It ranks above 97.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,514 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Racheal most popular?
The single biggest year for Racheal was 1985, when 388 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Racheal is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Racheal a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Racheal 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.
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.