Raqueal
A Spanish feminine name derived from the Hebrew name Rachel, meaning "ewe" or "female sheep".
Name Census estimates that about 52 living Americans carry the first name Raqueal. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Raqueal today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raqueal births was 1987 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raqueal. 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 Raqueal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
52
~ 1 in 6,591,430 Americans
Peak year
1987
11 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2000 SSA rank
#16,975
Tracked since 1978
Popularity
Raqueal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raqueal from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 30 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
Raqueal 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 Raqueal 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 Raqueal
The name Raqueal has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, with its earliest known roots dating back to biblical times. It is a variant of the Hebrew name Rachel, which means "ewe" or "female sheep" in English. This name was borne by the biblical matriarch Rachel, who was the beloved wife of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.
In the Old Testament, Rachel is described as being beautiful and deeply loved by her husband Jacob, who worked for her father Laban for seven years to earn the right to marry her. Despite her initial inability to conceive, Rachel eventually gave birth to Joseph and later to Benjamin, although she tragically died after giving birth to Benjamin. Her story is a poignant one, filled with love, heartbreak, and perseverance, and her name has endured through the ages as a testament to her significance in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
The earliest recorded use of the name Raqueal can be traced back to the medieval period, particularly in Iberian regions where it was likely influenced by the Moorish culture and the Arabic language. It was a popular name among Sephardic Jewish communities and later spread to other parts of Europe and the Americas.
One of the earliest notable figures to bear the name Raqueal was Raqueal de Castro (c. 1610 - c. 1688), a Portuguese-Dutch writer and poet who lived in Amsterdam. She was a prominent figure in the Sephardic Jewish community and wrote several works, including a collection of religious poems titled "Arvore de Vidas" (Tree of Lives).
Another historical figure named Raqueal was Raqueal Fernández (c. 1780 - c. 1850), a Cuban poet and playwright who lived during the late colonial period. She was one of the first female writers in Cuba and is known for her plays and poems that explored themes of love, nature, and patriotism.
In the 19th century, Raqueal Treves (1825 - 1899) was an Italian-Jewish philanthropist and educator who founded several schools and charities in her native city of Trieste, Italy. She was a pioneer in promoting education and social welfare for Jewish women and children.
One of the more recent historical figures with the name Raqueal was Raqueal Portilla (1919 - 2010), a Venezuelan artist and painter who was known for her vibrant and colorful works depicting scenes of everyday life in her home country.
Another notable bearer of the name was Raqueal Velásquez (1923 - 2011), a Mexican novelist and screenwriter who wrote several popular works exploring themes of love, family, and social issues in Mexico during the 20th century.
People
Raqueal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raqueal 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
Raqueal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raqueal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 52 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raqueal 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 6,591,430 US residents.
Is Raqueal a common name?
We classify Raqueal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 55 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raqueal most popular?
The single biggest year for Raqueal was 1987, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raqueal 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 Raqueal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raqueal a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raqueal 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 Raqueal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raqueal 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 Raqueal 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 many people share the name Raqueal?
You can see how many Americans are named Raqueal on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.