Yarell
A modern Hebrew name of uncertain meaning, potentially related to "mountain" or "woods".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Yarell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yarell today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yarell births was 2014 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yarell. 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 Yarell. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2014
5 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2014 SSA rank
#13,992
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Yarell: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Yarell 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 Yarell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Yarell
The name Yarell is of ancient Hebrew origin, dating back to the biblical era. It is derived from the Hebrew word "Yaar," which means "forest" or "thicket." The name was likely given to children born in or near wooded areas, as a reflection of the natural surroundings.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Yarell can be found in the Book of Joshua, a religious text from the Hebrew Bible. In this text, a man named Yarell is mentioned as a leader of one of the tribes of Israel during their conquest of Canaan. While the exact details of this individual are scarce, his inclusion in the biblical text suggests that the name was in use among ancient Hebrew communities.
In the 5th century BCE, a Jewish scholar and philosopher named Yarell ben Avigdor is recorded as having lived in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. He is credited with contributing to the development of Jewish thought and theology during the Hellenistic period, further solidifying the name's place in ancient Jewish culture.
During the Middle Ages, a prominent figure bearing the name Yarell emerged in the form of Yarell ibn Yahya, a renowned poet and scholar from the city of Córdoba, Spain. Born in 976 CE, Yarell ibn Yahya was celebrated for his mastery of Arabic poetry and his contributions to the preservation of Islamic literature and culture.
Another notable figure with the name Yarell was Yarell ben Shmuel, a Jewish physician and philosopher who lived in the 12th century CE. Originally from Seville, Spain, Yarell ben Shmuel gained recognition for his work in the field of medicine and his philosophical writings, which explored the intersection of Jewish thought and Aristotelian philosophy.
In the 16th century, a Jewish scholar and kabbalist named Yarell Hayyim Vital played a significant role in the development of Jewish mysticism. Born in Safed, Palestine, in 1542, Yarell Hayyim Vital was a prominent disciple of the renowned kabbalist, Isaac Luria, and helped to systematize and disseminate the teachings of the Lurianic Kabbalah.
These historical figures, spanning various eras and regions, illustrate the enduring presence of the name Yarell throughout Jewish and Middle Eastern history. While the name may have evolved in spelling and pronunciation over time, its roots can be traced back to the ancient Hebrew language and the biblical period.
People
Yarell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yarell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yarell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yarell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yarell 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Yarell a common name?
We classify Yarell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yarell most popular?
The single biggest year for Yarell was 2014, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yarell is about 12 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 Yarell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yarell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yarell 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 Yarell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yarell 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 Yarell 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 common is the name Yarell?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Yarell at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.