Azael
Masculine · Hebrew roots · “contains Hebrew el”
Azael is the Spanish-language shape of a name that reached the page through the Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible, who wrote the Aramean king Hazael as Ἀζαήλ — Azael, with the breathy first letter gone. It ends in the same -el that closes Miguel, Ismael, Daniel and Gabriel: the Hebrew word for God, worn smooth by centuries of use in Spanish. Said aloud, the stress lands on that last syllable and the name opens outward.
How old is the name Azael?
Azael first appears in US birth records in 1977 — 48 years ago. The typical Azael is a kid of about 6 — this name's wave is very recent. About 3,900 people named Azael are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Azael most popular?
Azael peaked in 2025, reaching #645 nationally. Today it ranks #645, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Azael appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Ḥaza'el (Hebrew) to Azael
The story of Azael
The name belongs to the large family of Hebrew names built on el, "God", and comes into modern use through scripture rather than through any single famous bearer. The Greek Septuagint spelling Ἀζαήλ, and the closely related Asael, passed into Latin and then into Spanish Bibles, where both forms stayed readable and pronounceable for ordinary speakers. In the United States its record begins in the late twentieth century and its strength sits in Texas, California and Arizona — the pattern of a name kept alive in Spanish-speaking households and now moving outward. Its climb here is recent enough that most people carrying it are still children.
Meaningscholars disagree
contains Hebrew el, "God"; the first element is disputed
Two biblical names arrive at this spelling. Hazael (Ḥaza'el), the king of Aram in the Book of Kings, is read as "God has seen" or "God beholds"; Asahel (Asah'el), Joab's brother in the Book of Samuel, appears in Spanish Bibles as Asael and is read as "God has made". The -el is certain in both; which name a given family means is often the family's own answer.
How the name formed
- Ḥaza'elHebrew
- Ἀζαήλ / AzaēlGreek
- AzaelSpanish
Related forms: Hazael · Asael · Azaël · Azael · Azaēl · Hazael
Pronouncing Azael
ah-sah-EL
In Spanish the stress falls on the final syllable and the z is said like an s: ah-sah-EL. English speakers commonly say AY-zayl or ah-ZAY-el. Both are heard in the US, so it helps to decide early which one you will correct people toward.
Nicknames for Azael
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1977
- Most boys named
- 2025432 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #645reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +2.9%432 in 2025, from 420
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Azael in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Hazael in Hebrew — related form
- Asael in Spanish — related form
- Azaël in French — spelling variant
- Azael in Portuguese — same name
- Azaēl in Greek — transliteration
- Hazael in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Arizona.
Azaels among us
people named Azael are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 3,954 born in 2025 was named Azael
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Azael
- #645
- Azael on the 2025 chart
- #498
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Azael went to 432 boys in 2025, but Asael is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 521, which makes it the 498th most-given boys’ name of the year — 147 places above the chart.
- Azael432
- Asael89
About 1 boy in 3,278 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 3,954 for Azael itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Stanton test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Azael's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Stanton climbed just as high around 1949, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Stanton's path sketches the road Azael is walking now.
Azael is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Azael is headed
Azael looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 48% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Azael beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Azael in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Ends in the same -el as Miguel, Daniel, Gabriel and Ismael, so the shape is instantly readable to Spanish-speaking families.
- Spelled the way it sounds in Spanish, with no silent letters and no accent mark to lose in forms and databases.
- Carries a biblical line reaching back to the Hebrew scriptures and their Greek translation, with a documented written form.
- Works in Spanish and English mouths alike, which matters in bilingual families and across borders.
- Two pronunciations circulate — ah-sah-EL and AY-zayl — and he will spend a fair amount of his life offering the one he prefers. Neither is wrong; it just becomes a small routine.
- The spelling sits close to Asael, Hazael and Azazel, the last of which is a demon in the Book of Enoch and a Marvel villain. Expect an occasional mix-up or an offhand comment, more likely from adults than from children.
- Because its use here is recent and thin, he is unlikely to meet another. That means no ready-made nickname either — whatever the family lands on will be the family's own invention.
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What they receive
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Azael
Masculine · Hebrew roots · #645 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Azaels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,900 people named Azael are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Azael?
- Azael is the most-used spelling in US records — 432 of the 521 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Asael.
- How popular is the name Azael in 2025?
- Azael ranks #645 among US boy names in 2025, with 432 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Azael?
- About 1 in every 3,954 US boys born in 2025 was named Azael — 432 in all.
- Will my child share the name Azael with classmates?
- Azael will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Azael
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Chris#646 · Lochlan#644 · Samir#643 · Sam#647 · Uriah#648 · Amias#642 · Anakin#648 · Keanu#648
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Azael? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Azael and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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