Rafael
Rafael places #218 across the country in 2025, holding steady. An old entry (1880) having its biggest moment now, with 89,379 American bearers across the record.
What Rafael carries
Rafael · Hebrew
“healing of God”
Source: Charlotte M. Yonge, History of Christian Names (1884), see our sources.
Rafael’s free Name Kit
Five printables for Rafael, drawn in your browser at print size the moment you ask: a name print for the wall, a nursery sign, a tracing sheet, a shortlist sheet, and twelve sibling names with the reason for each. Letter size, 300 dpi, in the site’s own hand.
- Name print Meaning, origin and the popularity curve on one sheet, ready for a frame.
- Nursery sign The name big and bright, for a door, a shelf or the top of a dresser.
- Tracing sheet The name in dotted letters, with room to go over it again and again.
- Shortlist sheet A page for weighing names side by side: initials, nicknames, how it sounds with yours.
- Sibling names sheet Twelve names that go with this one, each with the reason, from the sibling matcher.
Name print
Meaning, origin and the popularity curve on one sheet, ready for a frame.
Nursery sign
The name big and bright, for a door, a shelf or the top of a dresser.
Tracing sheet
The name in dotted letters, with room to go over it again and again.
Shortlist sheet
A page for weighing names side by side: initials, nicknames, how it sounds with yours.
Sibling names sheet
Twelve names that go with this one, each with the reason, from the sibling matcher.
Print on plain letter paper or heavier card; the sign and the print look best on matte stock.
Rafael since 1880
Rafael peaked in 2006 at #217; #218 in 2025.
United States national data, Social Security Administration, through 2025, how we use it.
Where Rafael is most common
By share of a state's recorded boys' names, Rafael runs strongest in District of Columbia at 0.55% in 2025, then Rhode Island and California.
Share of the state's recorded names for that sex, from the Social Security Administration's state file; a name is listed in a state only when five or more babies received it there that year.
Names that sit near Rafael
Same shelf of the library: origin, era and shape, scored deterministically.
Miguel
#212 in 2025 · Hebrew
Simon
#230 in 2025 · Hebrew
Abel
#231 in 2025 · Hebrew
Molly
#196 in 2025 · Hebrew
Ana
#245 in 2025 · Hebrew
Judah
#178 in 2025 · Hebrew
Ivan
#163 in 2025 · Hebrew
Diego
#158 in 2025 · Hebrew
Browse: names starting with R · Hebrew names · all names
About Rafael
How popular is the name Rafael?
Rafael places #218 across the country in 2025, holding steady. The full curve since 1880 is above, public federal data, redrawn, never estimated.
Does Rafael have a meaning on record?
“healing of God” is the meaning our source sets down, of Hebrew origin (Charlotte M. Yonge, History of Christian Names (1884)).
Which names sit near Rafael?
Nearest by the published recipe: Miguel, Simon and Abel. The sibling matcher scores every common American name against the ones you already have.
Get Rafael’s free Name Kit
Five printables made in your browser: a name print for the wall, a nursery sign, a tracing sheet, a shortlist sheet and twelve sibling names with the reason for each. Yours in a moment, for one email.
Make the kitThe book is in the works
A printed picture book where Rafael earns every letter of their own name, page by page. See the preview pages and hear when it is ready.
Preview the book