Rebel
Masculine · “one who renews a war”
Rebel is given to both — 966 boys and 1,490 girls since 1880. See Rebel as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Rebel is the English word, and the Latin behind it is more exact than the modern sense: rebellis named a defeated people who took up the war again rather than anyone who simply disagrees.
How old is the name Rebel?
Rebel first appears in US birth records in 1954 — 71 years ago. The typical Rebel is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 900 people named Rebel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rebel most popular?
Rebel peaked in 2013, reaching #2299 nationally. Today it ranks #3379, 1,080 places below that high. See the whole 2013 chart.
Where it comes from
From rebellis to Rebel
The story of Rebel
Latin rebellis passed through French into thirteenth-century English keeping its precise military sense, and only later softened into the word for anyone who will not comply. Its life as a given name is recent and American, part of a group of word-names — Rebel, Maverick, Legend, Justice — that entered the records in the last two decades. It is given to boys and to girls, and both sides of the split are in current use.
Meaning
one who renews a war; one who refuses to submit
From Latin rebellis, built on bellum, war, with a prefix meaning again; the original sense was of a conquered enemy rising a second time, and the general sense of a nonconformist is much later.
How the name formed
- rebellis
- rebel
Related forms: Rebelle · Rebelde
Pronouncing Rebel
REB-uhl
Two syllables, first stressed, as the noun. The verb moves the stress to the second syllable; the name does not.
Nicknames for Rebel
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
- 1954
- Most boys named
- 202058 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2299reached in 2013
- Change vs 2024
- −8.1%34 in 2025, from 37
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.
Rebel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rebelle in French — related form
- Rebelde in Spanish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Oklahoma.
Rebels among us
people named Rebel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 50,238 born in 2025 was named Rebel
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 Yobani test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rebel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Yobani climbed just as high around 1996, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Yobani's path sketches the road Rebel is walking now.
Rebel 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 Rebel is headed
Rebel is easing off slowly — about 15% 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.
Rebel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rebel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- An ordinary English word, so nobody has to be taught to say or spell it.
- The Latin history is exact and worth telling.
- It sits in a recognized American group of word-names rather than standing alone.
- It names a temperament the child has not chosen, and he will be measured against it by strangers.
- In the American South the clipped form carries a Confederate association that is not neutral.
- The name is used for girls as well, so forms may guess wrong.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Rebel
Masculine · #3379 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rebels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Rebel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rebel in 2025?
- Rebel ranks #3379 among US boy names in 2025, with 34 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rebel?
- About 1 in every 50,238 US boys born in 2025 was named Rebel — 34 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rebel with classmates?
- Rebel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rebel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Art#3379 · Sampson#3379 · Kiernan#3379 · Benyamin#3379 · Quamir#3379 · Madhav#3379 · Tuff#3379 · Hubert#3379
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rebel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rebel 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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