Rebeca
Feminine · “Hebrew Rivqah”
Rebeca is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 14,193 girls against 5 boys since 1880.
Rebeca is the Spanish and Portuguese spelling of a name that has been in continuous use since the Hebrew Bible — one fewer letter, and a rhythm that opens out on the middle syllable. It has been carried by readers of Genesis, by the Greek and Latin translators who passed it westward, and by families across the Spanish-speaking world who spell it their own way. In American records it has held a quiet, unbroken line rather than a fashionable spike.
How old is the name Rebeca?
Rebeca first appears in US birth records in 1888 — 137 years ago. The typical Rebeca alive today was born around 1996, making them about 29 years old. About 13,500 people named Rebeca are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rebeca most popular?
Rebeca peaked in 2003, reaching #633 nationally. Today it ranks #1339, 706 places below that high. See the whole 2003 chart.
Where it comes from
From Rivqah to Rebeca
The story of Rebeca
The name begins as Hebrew Rivqah, borne in Genesis by the wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau. Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible rendered it Rhebekka, and the Latin Bible fixed it as Rebecca, which is how it reached English — where it became widespread among Protestant families after the Reformation. Spanish and Portuguese simplified the doubled c, giving Rebeca, and that is the form that traveled through Latin America. Both spellings arrived in the United States and have run side by side ever since, with Rebeca strongest where Spanish-speaking families are most numerous.
Meaningscholars disagree
Hebrew Rivqah; the root is debated
The traditional reading connects it to a Hebrew root for tying or binding, and from there to older glosses like "snare" or "captivating." Hebrew scholars have also linked it to a word for a tethered animal, and many reference works now say plainly that the meaning is not recoverable. The one thing not in dispute is the form itself: Rivqah, the wife of Isaac in Genesis.
How the name formed
- Rivqah
- Rhebekka
- Rebecca
- Rebeca
Related forms: Rebecca · Rivka · Rébecca · Rebeka · Rebeka · Rebecca
Pronouncing Rebeca
reh-BEH-kah (Spanish) / ruh-BEK-uh (English)
Three syllables either way, with the stress in the middle. In Spanish all three vowels are clear and even; in English the first vowel softens and the last one blurs toward -uh. Both are correct for this spelling, and bilingual families often use each in its own setting.
Nicknames for Rebeca
High
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
- 1888
- Most girls named
- 2004359 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #633reached in 2003
- Change vs 2023
- −6.2%166 in 2025, from 177
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.
Rebeca in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rebecca in English — spelling variant
- Rivka in Hebrew — transliteration
- Rébecca in French — spelling variant
- Rebeka in Hungarian — spelling variant
- Rebeka in Polish — spelling variant
- Rebecca in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Rebecas among us
people named Rebeca are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 9,682 born in 2025 was named Rebeca
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Rebeca
- #1339
- Rebeca on the 2025 chart
- #245
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Rebeca went to 166 girls in 2025, but Rebecca, Rebekah and Rebeka are the same name said out loud. Together the 5 spellings went to 1,359, which makes it the 245th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,094 places above the chart.
and 1 rarer spelling.
About 1 girl in 1,183 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 9,682 for Rebeca 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 Valencia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rebeca's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Valencia climbed just as high around 1969, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Valencia's path sketches the road Rebeca is walking now.
Rebeca 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 Rebeca is headed
Rebeca should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Rebeca beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rebeca in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A spelling nobody has to decode: readers who know Rebecca will read Rebeca correctly on sight.
- Works in English, Spanish and Portuguese without adjustment, which matters in a bilingual family or across borders.
- A documented record stretching back to Genesis — the form has survived every change of naming fashion since.
- Several long-established short forms to choose from, from Becca and Rebe to Bex, none of them invented yesterday.
- The single c will be corrected to Rebecca for life — on forms, in emails, by teachers. Most Rebecas learn a quick phrase for it, but it is a small daily tax.
- Becky comes attached to the name in English, and it is a short form still strongly linked with older generations. Worth deciding early which nickname you would rather use.
- Two legitimate pronunciations means people will sometimes ask which one you want, or guess wrong and need one gentle correction.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Rebeca to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Rebeca
Feminine · #1339 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rebecas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 13,500 people named Rebeca are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Rebeca?
- Rebeca is one of 4 recorded spellings. Rebecca is the more common one — 872 births in 2025 against 166 for Rebeca.
- How popular is the name Rebeca in 2025?
- Rebeca ranks #1339 among US girl names in 2025, with 166 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rebeca?
- About 1 in every 9,682 US girls born in 2025 was named Rebeca — 166 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rebeca with classmates?
- Rebeca will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rebeca
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zaliyah#1339 · Adalina#1341 · Liya#1341 · Samadhi#1341 · Wendy#1341 · Livvy#1341 · Anita#1341 · Magdalene#1341
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rebeca? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rebeca and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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