Lael
Feminine · “belonging to God”
Lael is given to both — 2,360 girls and 1,166 boys since 1880. See Lael as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Lael is belonging to God in Hebrew — one of the very few biblical names built with a preposition rather than a verb.
How old is the name Lael?
Lael first appears in US birth records in 1895 — 130 years ago. The typical Lael alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 2,100 people named Lael are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lael most popular?
Lael peaked in 1895, reaching #1592 nationally. Today it ranks #1942, 350 places below that high. See the whole 1895 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From le El to Lael
The story of Lael
Lael appears once in the Hebrew Bible, in Numbers 3, as the father of Eliasaph, chief of the Gershonite Levites — nothing else is said of him. The name is used for both sexes in modern Israel and appears in the American registers in current use.
Meaning
belonging to God
From the Hebrew La'el — the preposition le, 'to' or 'belonging to', and El, 'God'. It is unusual: most Hebrew theophoric names use a verb, and this one uses only a preposition. Lael is named in Numbers as the father of a Levite. The reading is undisputed.
How the name formed
- le El
- La'el
- Lael
Related forms: לאל · Lael
Pronouncing Lael
lay-EL
Two syllables, stress on the second. Some bearers say LAYL with one.
Nicknames for Lael
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
- 1895
- Most girls named
- 202599 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1592reached in 1895
- Change vs 2023
- +83.3%99 in 2025, from 54
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.
Lael in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- לאל in Hebrew — transliteration
- Lael in Spanish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Laels among us
people named Lael are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 16,235 born in 2025 was named Lael
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Lael is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Lael is headed
Lael should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Lael beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lael in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Built with a preposition rather than a verb, which is genuinely rare among Hebrew names.
- The belonging-to-God meaning is transparent and undisputed.
- The end stress gives it a strong rhythm against a front-stressed surname.
- The syllable count splits between two readings.
- It is thoroughly unisex in Israeli use.
- It is very short and will need spelling out.
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What they receive
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Lael
Feminine · #1942 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Laels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Lael are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lael in 2025?
- Lael ranks #1942 among US girl names in 2025, with 99 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lael?
- About 1 in every 16,235 US girls born in 2025 was named Lael — 99 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lael with classmates?
- Lael will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lael
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Iyanna#1942 · Nahomi#1942 · Aziyah#1942 · Avia#1942 · Nazly#1942 · Kamiya#1942 · Priya#1942 · Kyndall#1942
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lael? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lael and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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