Rachael
Feminine · “ewe”
Rachael is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 82,469 girls against 181 boys since 1880.
Rachael is Rachel with an a borrowed from Michael. The extra letter changes nothing in speech and everything on paper, and it has been in English use long enough to count as a tradition rather than an error.
How old is the name Rachael?
Rachael was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Rachael alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 77,000 people named Rachael are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rachael most popular?
Rachael peaked in 1987, reaching #98 nationally. Today it ranks #4987, 4,889 places below that high. See the whole 1987 chart.
Rachael appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From rachel to Rachael
The story of Rachael
Rachel is one of the matriarchs of Genesis, and the story of Jacob working fourteen years for her is among the best known in the book. The name reached English through the Bible and was used steadily from the Reformation. The Rachael spelling appears in English records from the seventeenth century, formed by analogy with Michael, and it ran alongside the standard one for centuries before peaking in America in the late 1980s.
Meaning
ewe
From the Hebrew rachel, 'ewe' — a female sheep. Pastoral names of this kind were ordinary in the ancient Near East, and the Genesis account introduces Rachel herself at a well, watering her father's flock, which the text treats as the natural place to meet her.
How the name formed
- rachel
- Rachel
- Rachael
Related forms: Rachel · Rachelle · Raquel · Rachele
Pronouncing Rachael
RAY-chul
Two syllables, stress on the first. Rachael and Rachel are homophones; the extra a is silent. Spanish Raquel is said rah-KEL, with the stress at the end.
Nicknames for Rachael
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 19872,833 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #98reached in 1987
- Change vs 2022
- −45.8%26 in 2025, from 48
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.
Rachael in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rachel in Hebrew — same name
- Rachelle in French — related form
- Raquel in Spanish — related form
- Rachele in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Rachaels among us
people named Rachael are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 61,818 born in 2025 was named Rachael
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Lola test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rachael's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lola climbed just as high around 1904, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lola's path sketches the road Rachael is walking now.
Rachael sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Rachael is headed
Rachael is easing off slowly — about 23% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
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.
Rachael beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rachael in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One of the oldest documented women's names in continuous use anywhere.
- It has a cousin form in every European language, so it travels without translation.
- Rae is a short, clean form available immediately.
- The a does no audible work, so the spelling must be given every time.
- Rachel is far commoner and will be assumed by anyone writing it down.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Rachael
Feminine · #4987 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rachaels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 77,000 people named Rachael are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rachael in 2025?
- Rachael ranks #4987 among US girl names in 2025, with 26 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rachael?
- About 1 in every 61,818 US girls born in 2025 was named Rachael — 26 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rachael with classmates?
- Rachael will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rachael
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Perri#4987 · Giannina#4987 · Karisma#4987 · Zuleyka#4987 · Mccall#4987 · Makinley#4987 · Jayani#4987 · Mela#4987
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rachael? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rachael and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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