Rachel
Hebrew, meaning ewe. In Genesis, Rachel is Jacob's wife and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, which carried the name through Jewish and Christian use.
Rachel in 2025
Rachel was given to 1,225 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 535th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 2,706 babies born.
The history of Rachel
Rachel reached its highest point in 1985, when 16,437 babies were given the name, ranking 40th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 34th, in 1996.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 575,748 babies have been named Rachel. Half of them were born before 1987, which places the name's centre of gravity with Millennials.
Rachel by decade
| Decade | Babies named Rachel | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 2,128 | 191 |
| 1890s | 3,284 | 180 |
| 1900s | 3,979 | 189 |
| 1910s | 10,526 | 222 |
| 1920s | 14,274 | 262 |
| 1930s | 12,366 | 291 |
| 1940s | 13,464 | 298 |
| 1950s | 16,849 | 338 |
| 1960s | 26,881 | 124 |
| 1970s | 78,040 | 62 |
| 1980s | 147,336 | 40 |
| 1990s | 149,427 | 34 |
| 2000s | 68,521 | 59 |
| 2010s | 21,093 | 233 |
| 2020s | 7,580 | 500 |
Where Rachel is heading
Rachel has fallen 37% over the past decade, from 1,941 babies in 2015 to 1,225 in 2025.
Names like Rachel
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Rachel.