Rachele
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "ewe" or "female sheep".
Name Census estimates that about 2,990 living Americans carry the first name Rachele. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rachele today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rachele births was 1984 (125 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rachele. 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
3.0K
~ 1 in 114,634 Americans
Peak year
1984
125 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2010 SSA rank
#14,624
Tracked since 1919
Popularity
Rachele: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rachele from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 1,020 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
Rachele 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 Rachele during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Racheles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. California, New York, Ohio recorded the most babies named Rachele, while Virginia, Oregon, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 70 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rachele
The name Rachele is derived from the Hebrew name Rachel, which means "ewe" or "female sheep." It is a feminine form of the biblical name Rachel, who was the beloved wife of the patriarch Jacob in the Book of Genesis. The name Rachele has its roots in ancient Semitic cultures and is believed to have originated around the 2nd millennium BC.
The name Rachel first appears in the Hebrew Bible, where she is described as a beautiful and beloved wife of Jacob. According to the biblical account, Rachel remained barren for many years but eventually gave birth to Joseph and Benjamin. Her story is a significant part of the narrative in the Book of Genesis, and she is revered as one of the matriarchs of the Israelites.
In the Middle Ages, the name Rachele gained popularity among Jewish communities across Europe. Some notable historical figures who bore this name include Rachele Musaphia (13th century), a Jewish scholar and poet from Italy, and Rachele Morpurgo (18th century), an Italian philanthropist and writer.
During the Renaissance period, the name Rachele became more widespread in Italy, particularly among the Italian Jewish community. Rachele Braganza (1637-1695) was a notable Italian Jewish writer and poet who lived in Ferrara.
In the 19th century, the name Rachele gained popularity in other European countries as well. Rachele Vio (1847-1921) was an Italian writer and feminist activist who fought for women's rights and education.
Another notable figure was Rachele Mussolini (1890-1979), the wife of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Despite her controversial association, she was an influential figure in her own right and played a significant role in Italian politics during the Fascist era.
Overall, the name Rachele has a rich historical and cultural significance, rooted in ancient Hebrew traditions and later adopted across various cultures, particularly in Italy. Its enduring popularity over centuries is a testament to its timeless appeal.
People
Rachele + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rachele 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
Rachele: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rachele?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,990 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rachele 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 114,634 US residents.
Is Rachele a common name?
We classify Rachele as "Rare". It ranks above 95.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,316 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rachele most popular?
The single biggest year for Rachele was 1984, when 125 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rachele is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rachele a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rachele 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.