Yexiel
A Hebrew name meaning "God abolishes" or "God will annihilate".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Yexiel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yexiel today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yexiel births was 2014 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yexiel. 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 Yexiel. 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
#13,998
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Yexiel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Yexiel 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 Yexiel 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 Yexiel
The name Yexiel has its origins in Hebrew, derived from the biblical name Yechezkel, which means "God will strengthen" or "God strengthens." It is a variation of the more common name Ezekiel, the name of the Hebrew prophet who lived during the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BCE.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Yexiel can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Jewish communities across Europe and the Middle East. In the 12th century, there is a record of a Rabbi Yexiel ben Elijah, a prominent scholar and commentator on the Talmud, who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey).
During the 13th century, a notable figure named Yexiel ben Yosef of Andujar was a Spanish Jewish philosopher and mathematician. He is known for his contributions to the field of astronomy and his works on the calculation of the Jewish calendar.
In the 16th century, Yexiel ben Solomon Sephardi was a renowned Italian-Jewish poet and scholar who lived in Venice. He was a prolific writer and is best known for his poetic works, which were widely studied and admired throughout the Jewish communities of Italy and the Mediterranean region.
Another prominent individual named Yexiel was Yexiel Dayan, a 17th-century Turkish-Jewish scholar and rabbinical authority. He served as the Chief Rabbi of Smyrna (modern-day Izmir, Turkey) and was highly respected for his expertise in Jewish law and tradition.
In more recent times, Yexiel Moshe Epstein was a 20th-century American Orthodox rabbi and author. Born in 1900, he was a prominent figure in the Jewish community of New York City and wrote extensively on topics related to Jewish law and philosophy.
While the name Yexiel has its roots in ancient Hebrew and has been used throughout Jewish history, it remains relatively uncommon today, especially outside of certain Jewish communities. However, its rich historical and cultural significance continues to make it a meaningful choice for those seeking a name with deep religious and traditional connections.
People
Yexiel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yexiel 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
Yexiel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yexiel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yexiel 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 Yexiel a common name?
We classify Yexiel 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 Yexiel most popular?
The single biggest year for Yexiel was 2014, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yexiel 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 Yexiel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yexiel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yexiel 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 Yexiel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yexiel 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 Yexiel 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 Yexiel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.