Raffaela
A feminine name of Italian and Hebrew origin meaning "God has healed".
Name Census estimates that about 163 living Americans carry the first name Raffaela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Raffaela today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raffaela births was 1922 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raffaela. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Raffaela with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
163
~ 1 in 2,102,787 Americans
Peak year
1922
34 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2023 SSA rank
#17,042
Tracked since 1898
Census
Raffaela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 615 people with the first name Raffaela, which placed it at #17,751 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#17,751
National first-name rank
People counted
615
615 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
93.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raffaela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raffaela is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Raffaela described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Raffaela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 576
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 6
- Black or African American0.8% · 5
- Two or more races0.8% · 5
Popularity
Raffaela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raffaela from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 221 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raffaela 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 Raffaela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Raffaelas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Raffaela, while Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 91 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Raffaela
Raffaela is a feminine given name of Italian origin, derived from the Hebrew name Rafael, meaning "God has healed." The name gained popularity during the Renaissance period in Italy, particularly in the regions of Tuscany and Umbria.
The earliest known reference to the name Raffaela can be traced back to the 15th century, when it was used by several members of the aristocratic Italian families, such as the Medici and the Borgia. One notable figure was Raffaela Sansoni (1460-1525), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her support of Renaissance artists like Michelangelo.
In the 16th century, the name gained further prominence with the birth of Raffaela Orsini (1550-1630), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, who was instrumental in the construction of the Church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte in Rome. Raffaela Orsini's patronage and support of artists and intellectuals during the Baroque period contributed to the cultural richness of Rome.
Another notable figure was Raffaela Fiorini (1615-1688), an Italian painter active in Rome during the Baroque period, renowned for her religious paintings and portraits. Her works are displayed in various churches and museums across Italy, including the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Rome.
In the 18th century, Raffaela Pulzoni (1725-1799) was an Italian soprano and composer, known for her operatic roles and her contribution to the development of the Neapolitan school of opera. Her compositions, including operas and cantatas, were widely performed across Europe during her lifetime.
The 19th century saw the birth of Raffaela Baracchi (1857-1935), an Italian educator and feminist activist, who played a crucial role in promoting women's education and advocating for equal rights in Italy. She founded several schools and organizations dedicated to the advancement of women's education and social status.
These historical figures, spanning different eras and disciplines, exemplify the rich cultural and artistic significance associated with the name Raffaela throughout Italian history.
People
Raffaela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raffaela 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
Raffaela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raffaela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 163 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raffaela 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 2,102,787 US residents.
Is Raffaela a common name?
We classify Raffaela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 756 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raffaela most popular?
The single biggest year for Raffaela was 1922, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raffaela is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raffaela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 615 people with the name Raffaela, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,751 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Raffaela in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Raffaela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raffaela appears almost entirely female. Of the 616 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Raffaela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raffaela is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Raffaela most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Raffaela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (576 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Raffaela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raffaela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raffaela 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 Raffaela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raffaela 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 Raffaela 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.
How many people have Raffaela as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.