Refoel
A Hebrew masculine given name derived from the Hebrew elements "rafa" (to heal) and "El" (God).
Name Census estimates that about 213 living Americans carry the first name Refoel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Refoel today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Refoel births was 2017 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Refoel. 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 Refoel with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
213
~ 1 in 1,609,175 Americans
Peak year
2017
18 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,603
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Refoel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Refoel from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 118 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Refoel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Refoel 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 Refoel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Refoels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Refoel
The name Refoel is derived from the Hebrew language and has its roots in the biblical era. It is a combination of two Hebrew words: "Refa" meaning "heal" and "El" meaning "God." The name can be interpreted as "God heals" or "God's healing."
In ancient Hebrew texts, the name Refoel is mentioned as one of the archangels who oversees healing and medicine. This association with healing and divine intervention is believed to have originated from the Book of Tobit, an apocryphal Jewish text written around the 3rd century BCE.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Refoel was a 1st-century CE Jewish scholar and physician from Alexandria, Egypt. He was renowned for his expertise in herbal remedies and was credited with treating various ailments through natural means.
In the Middle Ages, Refoel was the name of a prominent physician and philosopher from Cordoba, Spain, who lived during the 11th century. He made significant contributions to the field of medicine and wrote extensively on the relationship between physical and spiritual healing.
During the Renaissance period, Refoel Abravanel (1437-1508) was a notable Portuguese Jewish philosopher and statesman. He served as a financial advisor to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain and was known for his expertise in biblical exegesis and Jewish law.
In more recent history, Refoel Soloveitchik (1876-1959) was a prominent Orthodox Rabbi and Talmudic scholar from Belarus. He played a crucial role in preserving and disseminating Jewish learning and tradition in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
Another notable figure with the name Refoel was Refoel Eitan (1929-2004), an Israeli military leader and politician. He served as the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and later became a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament).
The name Refoel carries a rich historical and cultural significance, intertwining themes of healing, divinity, and scholarly pursuits. Its Hebrew roots and association with biblical and religious texts have contributed to its enduring relevance throughout the centuries.
People
Refoel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Refoel 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
Refoel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Refoel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 213 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Refoel 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 1,609,175 US residents.
Is Refoel a common name?
We classify Refoel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 215 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Refoel most popular?
The single biggest year for Refoel was 2017, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Refoel is about 11 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 Refoel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Refoel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Refoel 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 Refoel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Refoel 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 Refoel 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 have the name Refoel?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Refoel, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.