Yetziel
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my strength".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Yetziel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yetziel today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yetziel births was 2013 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yetziel. 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 Yetziel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2013
6 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2013 SSA rank
#12,074
Tracked since 2013
Popularity
Yetziel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Yetziel 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 Yetziel 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 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Yetziel
The name Yetziel is of Hebrew origin and is believed to have its roots in the ancient Israelite culture, dating back to around the 6th century BCE. It is derived from the Hebrew words "Yah" and "Tziel," which together translate to "God is my shadow" or "God is my protection."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yetziel can be found in the Book of Ezra, a book of the Hebrew Bible. In Ezra 10:25, a man named Yetziel is mentioned as one of the Israelites who had taken foreign wives during the Babylonian captivity. This reference suggests that the name was in use among the ancient Israelites during the post-exilic period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Yetziel. One of the earliest was Yetziel ben Abraham, a 12th-century Spanish Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in Zaragoza, Spain. He was known for his work in the fields of mathematics and astronomy.
In the 17th century, Yetziel Yahuda was a renowned Italian Jewish scholar and author. He wrote extensively on Jewish law and philosophy, and his works were widely studied in Jewish communities across Europe. Yahuda lived from 1615 to 1685.
Another significant figure was Yetziel Mordechai, a 19th-century Russian-born Jewish author and educator. He was a pioneer in the field of Jewish education and helped establish several schools and educational institutions in Russia and Poland. Mordechai lived from 1824 to 1892.
In the 20th century, Yetziel Shlomo was an Israeli politician and journalist. He served as a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) from 1949 to 1951 and was a prominent figure in the Israeli labor movement. Shlomo was born in 1905 and died in 1981.
Finally, Yetziel Raphael was a renowned Israeli painter and sculptor who lived from 1914 to 1999. He was known for his abstract and expressionist works, and his art is displayed in various museums and galleries around the world.
While the name Yetziel has its roots in ancient Hebrew culture, it has endured through the ages and continues to be used in various Jewish communities worldwide. The name's meaning and historical significance have made it a popular choice for parents seeking a name with deep cultural and religious significance.
People
Yetziel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yetziel 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
Yetziel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yetziel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yetziel 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Yetziel a common name?
We classify Yetziel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yetziel most popular?
The single biggest year for Yetziel was 2013, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yetziel is about 13 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 Yetziel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yetziel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yetziel 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 Yetziel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yetziel 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 Yetziel 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 Yetziel as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.