Sariel
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "command of God".
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the first name Sariel. It is a predominantly male name (96.0% of registrations). The average person named Sariel today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sariel births was 2021 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sariel. 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
123
~ 1 in 2,786,621 Americans
Peak year
2021
19 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,188
Tracked since 2002
Gender
Gender distribution for Sariel
Sariel leans heavily male at 96.0% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Sariel as a male name
- Ranked #8,188 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (14 births)
Sariel as a female name
- Ranked #17,266 in 2021
- 5 female births in 2021
- Peak: 2021 (5 births)
Popularity
Sariel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sariel from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 62 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sariel 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 Sariel 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 Sariel
The name Sariel is derived from the Hebrew language and has its roots in ancient Jewish and Christian religious texts. It is believed to have originated in the Middle East, particularly in the regions of ancient Israel and Mesopotamia, around the 6th century BCE.
Sariel is a combination of two Hebrew words, "sar" meaning "prince" or "leader," and "el," which refers to God or a divine being. Thus, the name Sariel can be interpreted as "Prince of God" or "God's Prince." This name is often associated with angelic or heavenly beings in Jewish and Christian traditions.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Sariel can be found in the ancient Jewish text known as the Book of Enoch, which dates back to the 3rd century BCE. In this text, Sariel is described as one of the chief angelic princes, responsible for overseeing the spirits of humanity.
In the Christian tradition, Sariel is also mentioned in several apocryphal texts and is often associated with the archangel Michael. The name appears in the Apocryphal Book of Ezra, where Sariel is depicted as one of the seven archangels who stand before the throne of God.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Sariel, although it was not as common as some other Hebrew names. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Sariel ben Yerushalmi, a Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 10th century CE in Babylon.
In the 12th century, there was a Jewish scholar and poet named Sariel ben Yosef who lived in Spain and was known for his contributions to Hebrew poetry and literature.
Another notable figure was Sariel Tzuberi, an Israeli military officer and politician who served as a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in the late 20th century.
Sariel Kapara was a prominent Yemenite Jewish scholar and kabbalist who lived in the 16th century and was known for his work on Jewish mysticism and the Kabbalah.
In more recent times, Sariel Bigio was an Italian-Israeli businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1919 to 2005 and was known for his support of cultural and educational initiatives in Israel.
While the name Sariel has its roots in ancient religious texts and traditions, it has maintained a presence throughout history, albeit with varying degrees of popularity across different cultures and time periods.
People
Sariel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sariel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sariel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sariel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 123 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sariel 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 2,786,621 US residents.
Is Sariel a common name?
We classify Sariel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 124 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sariel most popular?
The single biggest year for Sariel was 2021, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sariel is about 9 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 Sariel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sariel a male name?
Yes, 96.0% of people registered as Sariel 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 Sariel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sariel 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 Sariel 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 are named Sariel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.