Rafael
Feminine · “God has healed”
Rafael is given to boys far more often — 89,379 boys against 568 girls since 1880. See Rafael as a boy name
Rafael is the Spanish and Portuguese form of Raphael, the archangel whose name means God has healed. It is three warm syllables, familiar across the Spanish-speaking world and carried in modern times by a tennis champion and a composer whose song became a people's anthem.
How old is the name Rafael?
Rafael first appears in US birth records in 1923 — 102 years ago. The typical Rafael alive today was born around 1982, making them about 43 years old. About 500 people named Rafael are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rafael most popular?
Rafael peaked in 1977, reaching #3366 nationally. See the whole 1977 chart.
Where it comes from
From Rafa'el to Rafael
The story of Rafael
Raphael is the archangel of the Book of Tobit who travels in disguise and heals, and Spanish and Portuguese made his name Rafael. Rafael Hernández, a Puerto Rican composer who had played in an American army band in the First World War, wrote Lamento Borincano, the song of a farmer who takes his harvest to market and sells nothing, and it became an anthem of the island in hard times. Rafael Nadal, from Mallorca, won the French Open fourteen times. The name is given to a few girls in America as well, but it is overwhelmingly a boy's name.
Meaning
God has healed
From Hebrew Rafa'el, God has healed. Rafael is the Spanish and Portuguese spelling, which writes f where Greek and Latin wrote ph.
How the name formed
- Rafa'el
- Raphael
- Rafael
Related forms: Refael · Raphael · Raffaele · Raphaël · Rafael
Pronouncing Rafael
rah-fah-EL
In Spanish, three syllables with the stress on the last. Many English speakers say RAF-ee-el or RAY-fee-el.
Nicknames for Rafael
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
- 1923
- Most girls named
- 197722 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3366reached in 1977
- Change vs 2008
- +16.7%7 in 2009, from 6
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.
Rafael in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Refael in Hebrew — same name
- Raphael in English — same name
- Raffaele in Italian — same name
- Raphaël in French — same name
- Rafael in Portuguese — same name
Rafaels among us
people named Rafael are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Rafael sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Its meaning is clear and hopeful.
- Rafa and Rafi are well-loved short forms.
- It is familiar in both Spanish and English.
- English speakers will put the stress in different places.
- A very few girls have been given it; for them it will read as a boy's name everywhere.
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Rafael
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Rafaels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Rafael are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rafael in 2025?
- Rafael is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Rafael with classmates?
- Rafael will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Ruth#173 · Rebecca#349 · Rachel#250 · Rose#114 · Ruby#64 · Robin#704 · Rita#1285 · Rhonda#6116
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rafael? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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