Raffaela
Feminine · “God heals”
Raffaela is the Italian feminine of an archangel's name, usually written with two l's. The painter who made the name famous did something in one fresco that art historians have been identifying figures in ever since.
How old is the name Raffaela?
Raffaela first appears in US birth records in 1898 — 127 years ago. The typical Raffaela alive today was born around 1926, making them about 99 years old. About 200 people named Raffaela are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Raffaela most popular?
Raffaela peaked in 1922, reaching #1366 nationally. See the whole 1922 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Raffaela
The School of Athens covers a wall in the Vatican with ancient philosophers arranged in a hall, and a good many of them are portraits. Plato is generally taken to be Leonardo. The solitary figure brooding on the steps was added late and is usually identified as Michelangelo, who was painting the ceiling next door and did not like him. Euclid, bent over a compass, is said to be the architect Bramante. And the painter put himself in at the edge, looking out. It is a group portrait of the Renaissance disguised as a history painting, and the disguise is thin enough that visitors are still arguing in front of it.
Meaning
God heals
The Hebrew name is a short sentence about God healing, and the reading is settled. This spelling drops one l from the standard Italian form, and no reason for that is recorded.
Pronouncing Raffaela
rah-fah-EH-lah
Four syllables with the weight on the third. In Italian the doubled l is held slightly longer, which this spelling does not record.
Nicknames for Raffaela
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
- 1898
- Most girls named
- 192234 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1366reached in 1922
- Change vs 2020
- −16.7%5 in 2023, 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.
Raffaela in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Raffaella in Italian — same name
- Rafaela in Spanish — same name
- Raphaëlle in French — same name
Raffaelas among us
people named Raffaela 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
Raffaela 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
- Ella and Raffi are both available as short forms and both are established.
- The meaning is settled and can be given in two words.
- It works in Italian, Spanish and English households with only a shift of stress.
- Raffaella and Rafaela are both standard elsewhere, so this spelling will be adjusted by people who know the name.
- Four syllables is a lot for an American form and it will be shortened by other people first.
- English readers will put the stress in the wrong place on first sight.
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Raffaela
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Raffaelas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Raffaela are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Raffaela in 2025?
- Raffaela is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Raffaela with classmates?
- Raffaela 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 Raffaela? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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