Rifka
Feminine
The same Hebrew name is said two ways depending on which Jewish world it comes through. Israeli Hebrew gives Rivka. Ashkenazi Hebrew, the pronunciation carried through central and eastern Europe for a thousand years, gives Rifka and Rivke — a different vowel system, a different rhythm, the same three letters.
How old is the name Rifka?
Rifka first appears in US birth records in 1952 — 73 years ago. The typical Rifka alive today was born around 1997, making them about 28 years old. About 700 people named Rifka are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rifka most popular?
Rifka peaked in 1974, reaching #4459 nationally. Today it ranks #10917, 6,458 places below that high. See the whole 1974 chart.
Where it comes from
From Rivqah to Rifka
The story of Rifka
Ashkenazi Hebrew is not a mistake or a corruption; it is a distinct tradition of pronunciation that developed in central Europe and was carried by Yiddish-speaking communities for a millennium, differing from the Sephardi tradition in its vowels and its stress. Modern Israeli Hebrew took the Sephardi system, which is why Shabbos and Shabbat, Yisroel and Yisrael, Rifka and Rivka are the same words. The name itself belongs to the woman at the well in Genesis who waters ten camels for a stranger and is chosen for it — an act of ordinary hospitality that the story treats as the whole test. Rifka remains an entirely current name in Hasidic and Yiddish-speaking communities.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Hebrew Rivqah has no established meaning. A root meaning to tie or bind is the usual proposal, and a connection with a word for a tethered animal has been suggested, but neither has been demonstrated. The name is older than any explanation offered for it, which is true of most of the Genesis women.
How the name formed
- Rivqah
- Rifka
Related forms: Rivka · Rivke · Rebecca
Pronouncing Rifka
RIF-kah
Two syllables, stress on the first in Ashkenazi use. Israeli Hebrew puts the weight at the end and voices the consonant: riv-KAH. Both are correct in their own tradition.
Nicknames for Rifka
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
- 1952
- Most girls named
- 200120 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4459reached in 1974
- Change vs 2024
- −38.5%8 in 2025, from 13
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.
Rifka in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rivka in Hebrew — same name
- Rivke in Yiddish — same name
- Rebecca in English — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York.
Rifkas among us
people named Rifka are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 200,908 born in 2025 was named Rifka
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 Silvie test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rifka's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Silvie climbed just as high around 1921, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Silvie's path sketches the road Rifka is walking now.
Rifka 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
Rifka beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rifka in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is an ordinary current name in living communities rather than a revival.
- Two syllables and five letters, easy to say and easy to spell.
- It belongs to one of the best-documented naming traditions in the world.
- Rivka is the commoner spelling outside Yiddish-speaking communities and will be offered as a correction.
- It signals a specific religious community clearly, which is the point for some families and a consideration for others.
- There is no established meaning, so there is nothing to tell a child who asks.
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What they receive
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Rifka
Feminine · #10917 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rifkas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Rifka are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rifka in 2025?
- Rifka ranks #10917 among US girl names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rifka?
- About 1 in every 200,908 US girls born in 2025 was named Rifka — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rifka with classmates?
- Rifka will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rifka
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Edythe#10917 · Tessie#10917 · Drusilla#10917 · Eugenie#10917 · Ivah#10917 · Karri#10917 · Claribel#10917 · Myrtle#10917
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rifka? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rifka and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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