Raffiel
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God has healed".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Raffiel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Raffiel today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raffiel births was 1988 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raffiel. 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 Raffiel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1988
5 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1988 SSA rank
#8,216
Tracked since 1988
Popularity
Raffiel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Raffiel 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 Raffiel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Raffiel
The name Raffiel is believed to have its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is a variant spelling of the name Raphael, which itself is derived from the Hebrew words "רָפָא" (rafa) meaning "to heal" and "אֵל" (el) meaning "God". The name Raphael thus carries the meaning "God has healed" or "God's healing".
The name Raffiel, with its unique spelling, first appeared in historical records during the Medieval period, particularly in texts written in Latin and various European languages influenced by Latin. It is thought to have emerged as a variant spelling due to the pronunciation and transliteration challenges that arose when transcribing the original Hebrew name into other languages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Raffiel can be found in the 13th-century work "Liber de Monstris" (Book of Monsters) by the English scholar Michael Scot. In this text, Raffiel is mentioned as the name of an angel associated with the planet Mercury. This association likely stems from the name's connection to healing, as Mercury was considered a healing planet in medieval astrology and alchemy.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Raffiel. One of the earliest was Raffiel de Blois (c. 1180 - c. 1240), a French nobleman and crusader who participated in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France. Another early figure was Raffiel of Padua (c. 1250 - c. 1320), an Italian philosopher and theologian who wrote extensively on the works of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas.
In the 16th century, Raffiel Sanzio (1483 - 1520) was an Italian painter and architect who was a prominent figure during the High Renaissance period. He is best known for his masterpieces such as "The School of Athens" and "The Sistine Madonna".
Moving into the 19th century, Raffiel Lemkin (1900 - 1959) was a Polish lawyer and scholar who is widely recognized as the founder of the term "genocide" and was a driving force behind the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
More recently, Raffiel Cavalcante (1940 - 2014) was a Brazilian actor and director who had a prolific career in both film and television, appearing in numerous telenovelas and earning several awards for his performances.
While the name Raffiel may not be as common as its root form Raphael, it has maintained a presence throughout history, often associated with individuals who have made significant contributions in fields such as art, philosophy, law, and the performing arts.
People
Raffiel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raffiel 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
Raffiel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raffiel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raffiel 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 Raffiel a common name?
We classify Raffiel 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 Raffiel most popular?
The single biggest year for Raffiel was 1988, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raffiel is about 37 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 Raffiel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raffiel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raffiel 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 Raffiel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raffiel 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 Raffiel 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 common is the name Raffiel?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Raffiel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.