Uriel
Masculine · Hebrew roots · “God is my light”
Uriel is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 21,075 boys against 318 girls since 1880.
Uriel is built from two of the oldest words in Hebrew naming — light and God — and it has been carried by scribes, angelologists and poets for well over two thousand years. Milton gave it to the angel of the sun in Paradise Lost in the seventeenth century, and Spanish-speaking families have kept it in everyday use ever since. Three syllables that end on a soft, open note, familiar in both English and Spanish mouths.
How old is the name Uriel?
Uriel first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Uriel alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 20,500 people named Uriel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Uriel most popular?
Uriel peaked in 2008, reaching #386 nationally. Today it ranks #445, 59 places below that high. See the whole 2008 chart.
Uriel appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Uriʼel (Hebrew) to Uriel
The story of Uriel
Uriel is Hebrew, and it appears in the Hebrew Bible as the name of ordinary men — a Levite in the book of Chronicles among them. Its wider fame came from Jewish writings outside the canon: in 1 Enoch and in 2 Esdras, Uriel is named as one of the archangels, and that identification carried the name through Greek and Latin texts into Christian and later esoteric tradition. Milton drew on it directly, making Uriel the angel who keeps watch over the sun in Paradise Lost. In the modern era the name has been at its liveliest in Spanish, where it is a settled everyday choice — which is why American records show it strongest in states with deep Mexican-American communities.
Meaning
God is my light
From Hebrew ʼur, "light" or "flame", joined to El, "God" — the same divine element that closes Michael, Gabriel and Daniel.
How the name formed
- UriʼelHebrew
- OuriēlGreek
- UrielLatin
- Uriel
Related forms: אוּרִיאֵל · Uriel · Uriel · Uriele · Уриил (Uriil) · Uriel
Pronouncing Uriel
YOOR-ee-el
English speakers also say OO-ree-el. In Spanish the stress falls on the last syllable: oo-ree-EL. All three are correct in their own settings, so it helps to decide early which one your family will use.
Nicknames for Uriel
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
- 1913
- Most boys named
- 2008789 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #386reached in 2008
- Change vs 2023
- +16.6%708 in 2025, from 607
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.
Uriel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- אוּרִיאֵל in Hebrew — same name
- Uriel in Spanish — same name
- Uriel in Portuguese — same name
- Uriele in Italian — related form
- Уриил (Uriil) in Russian — transliteration
- Uriel in French — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Uriels among us
people named Uriel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 2,413 born in 2025 was named Uriel
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 Stan test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Uriel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Stan climbed just as high around 1959, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Stan's path sketches the road Uriel is walking now.
Uriel 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 Uriel is headed
Uriel should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Uriel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Uriel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A meaning that is settled rather than debated, and one parents can state in four words: God is my light.
- Works unchanged in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French — useful in a bilingual family or an extended one.
- Shares its ending with Gabriel, Daniel and Michael, so the shape is instantly readable to people who have never seen it before.
- Comes with Uri, a short form already in real use rather than one you would have to invent.
- A documented record stretching from ancient Hebrew texts through Milton to the present day.
- Two live pronunciations, English and Spanish, means a lifetime of small corrections — or of answering to both. Neither is wrong, which is the awkward part.
- It sits close to Ariel and Uriah in sound and in print, and gets misheard as both. Uriah in particular carries its own baggage from Dickens.
- The archangel association is stronger than with most -el names, since Uriel is chiefly known from angel writings rather than from a biblical narrative. Some families welcome that; others would rather the name arrive without it.
- Familiar in some regions and genuinely rare in others, so a child may be the only one in a school without the name ever needing to be explained from scratch.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Uriel to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Uriel? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Uriel
Masculine · Hebrew roots · #445 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Uriels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 20,500 people named Uriel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Uriel in 2025?
- Uriel ranks #445 among US boy names in 2025, with 708 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Uriel?
- About 1 in every 2,413 US boys born in 2025 was named Uriel — 708 in all.
- Will my child share the name Uriel with classmates?
- Uriel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Uriel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Apollo#445 · Valentino#444 · Prince#447 · Dalton#448 · Chance#442 · Jalen#442 · Yusuf#449 · Sergio#441
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Uriel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Uriel and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Or jump into a head-to-head
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle