Usiel
God's strength, a masculine name of Hebrew origin.
Name Census estimates that about 256 living Americans carry the first name Usiel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Usiel today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Usiel births was 2007 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Usiel. 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
256
~ 1 in 1,338,884 Americans
Peak year
2007
21 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,200
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Usiel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Usiel from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 135 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Usiel 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 Usiel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Usiels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Usiel
The name Usiel has its roots in Hebrew culture and language, originating as a combination of the Hebrew words "El" (meaning "God") and "Usi" (meaning "my strength" or "my refuge"). This suggests that the name's original meaning was something along the lines of "God is my strength" or "God is my refuge."
The earliest known mention of the name Usiel comes from the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible, where it is listed as one of the names of the sons of Kohath, who was the son of Levi. This places the name's origins at least as far back as the 13th century BCE, during the era when the Israelites were said to have wandered the desert after their exodus from Egypt.
In the centuries that followed, the name appears to have been relatively uncommon, with few notable historical figures bearing it. One exception was Usiel ben Yehouda, a 12th-century Jewish philosopher and scholar from Spain who wrote extensively on topics such as metaphysics and ethics.
It wasn't until the 16th century that the name began to gain more widespread use, particularly among Jewish communities in Europe and the Middle East. One notable bearer of the name from this period was Usiel da Pisa, an Italian rabbi and Talmudic scholar who lived from 1475 to 1535.
In more recent history, there have been a handful of notable individuals named Usiel. Usiel Gal was an Israeli painter and sculptor who lived from 1923 to 2010 and was known for his abstract and cubist works. Usiel Black was a British actor and playwright who was born in 1908 and appeared in several films and television shows throughout the mid-20th century.
Another notable Usiel was Usiel Machlin, an American physicist and inventor who was born in 1905 and played a key role in the development of radar technology during World War II. Additionally, Usiel Oseas Siosi was a Samoan politician and chief who served as a member of the country's legislative assembly in the 1970s and 1980s.
Overall, while not an extremely common name, Usiel has a rich history and cultural significance, particularly within the Jewish and Hebrew traditions, and has been borne by a diverse array of individuals throughout the centuries.
People
Usiel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Usiel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Usiel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Usiel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 256 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Usiel 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 1,338,884 US residents.
Is Usiel a common name?
We classify Usiel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 259 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Usiel most popular?
The single biggest year for Usiel was 2007, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Usiel is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Usiel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Usiel 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.