Ralphael
A masculine name derived from the Hebrew name Raphael, meaning "God has healed".
Name Census estimates that about 425 living Americans carry the first name Ralphael. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ralphael today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ralphael births was 1991 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ralphael. 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
425
~ 1 in 806,481 Americans
Peak year
1991
23 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,763
Tracked since 1967
Popularity
Ralphael: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ralphael from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 122 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
Ralphael 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 Ralphael 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 Ralphael
The name Ralphael is a variation of the masculine given name Raphael, which has its origins in the Hebrew language. It is derived from the Hebrew phrase "Rafa El," meaning "God has healed." The name gained popularity due to its association with the archangel Raphael, one of the seven archangels mentioned in the Book of Tobit, a deuterocanonical book of the Bible.
In the Book of Tobit, Raphael is depicted as a traveling companion and guide to Tobias, the son of Tobit. The archangel helps Tobias on his journey and assists him in various tasks, including healing his father's blindness. This association with healing and divine guidance contributed to the name's widespread use in the Christian tradition.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Raphael can be found in the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish religious text from the 3rd century BCE. In this text, Raphael is mentioned as one of the archangels who watches over the spirits of men.
Throughout history, the name Ralphael has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the most famous was Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520), an Italian Renaissance artist known for his masterpieces such as "The School of Athens" and "The Sistine Madonna." His works are renowned for their harmonious composition, graceful figures, and rich colors.
Another prominent figure with the name Ralphael was Raphael Holinshed (c. 1529-1580), an English chronicler best known for his work "Holinshed's Chronicles," which served as a source for many of Shakespeare's historical plays, including "Macbeth" and "King Lear."
In the realm of science, Raphael Meldola (1849-1915) was a British chemist and entomologist who made significant contributions to the study of organic chemistry and insect coloration.
Raphael Patai (1910-1996) was a Hungarian-born Jewish anthropologist and historian who specialized in the study of Middle Eastern cultures and communities.
Raphael Lemkin (1900-1959), a Polish lawyer and linguist, is recognized for coining the term "genocide" and for his efforts to establish it as an international crime in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
These are just a few examples of prominent individuals who bore the name Ralphael throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields such as art, literature, science, and human rights.
People
Ralphael + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ralphael 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
Ralphael: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ralphael?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 425 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ralphael 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 806,481 US residents.
Is Ralphael a common name?
We classify Ralphael as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 439 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ralphael most popular?
The single biggest year for Ralphael was 1991, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ralphael is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ralphael a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ralphael 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.
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.