Rachael
Spelling variant of Rachel, from Hebrew Rachel, meaning ewe. In Genesis it belongs to Jacob's wife, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.
Rachael in 2025
Rachael was given to 26 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 8,785th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 127,513 babies born.
The history of Rachael
Rachael reached its highest point in 1990, when 3,035 babies were given the name, ranking 227th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 206th, in 1987.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 82,650 babies have been named Rachael. Half of them were born before 1988, which places the name's centre of gravity with Millennials.
Rachael by decade
| Decade | Babies named Rachael | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 113 | 1,050 |
| 1890s | 185 | 970 |
| 1900s | 254 | 835 |
| 1910s | 932 | 955 |
| 1920s | 962 | 1,124 |
| 1930s | 522 | 1,646 |
| 1940s | 726 | 1,509 |
| 1950s | 1,249 | 1,295 |
| 1960s | 3,054 | 609 |
| 1970s | 12,763 | 298 |
| 1980s | 25,788 | 206 |
| 1990s | 24,527 | 227 |
| 2000s | 9,150 | 469 |
| 2010s | 2,139 | 1,293 |
| 2020s | 286 | 4,636 |
Where Rachael is heading
Rachael has fallen 86% over the past decade, from 185 babies in 2015 to 26 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1990 peak — Rachael is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Rachael
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Rachael.