Rachael
Rachael was given to 26 girls in 2025, #5,065 among girls’ names; 82,650 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 76,700 Americans named Rachael and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (93% of everyone recorded); the median is 38 years old and half are between 30 and 45.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Rachael by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Rachael mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Rachael is “a female given name from Hebrew, a spelling variant of Rachel first recorded in the 17th century.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Rachael?
#5,065 among girls’ names, 2025
Rachael fell from #1,300 in 2015 to #5,065 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.10 to 0.02 per 1,000.
3,035 babies in 1990, the peak
Rachael peaked in 1990, when 3,035 babies were given it (3,028 girls, #111 among girls’ names). The 26 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 26 | #5,065 | 0.02 |
| 2024 | 38 | #3,947 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 57 | #2,967 | 0.04 |
| 2022 | 48 | #3,356 | 0.03 |
| 2021 | 52 | #3,149 | 0.03 |
| 2020 | 65 | #2,623 | 0.04 |
| 2019 | 80 | #2,283 | 0.05 |
| 2018 | 114 | #1,795 | 0.07 |
| 2017 | 116 | #1,798 | 0.07 |
| 2016 | 163 | #1,424 | 0.09 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 185 | #1,300 | 0.10 |
| 2014 | 210 | #1,172 | 0.12 |
| 2013 | 244 | #1,024 | 0.14 |
| 2012 | 296 | #895 | 0.17 |
| 2011 | 321 | #826 | 0.18 |
| 2010 | 410 | #698 | 0.23 |
| 2009 | 491 | #616 | 0.27 |
| 2008 | 658 | #481 | 0.35 |
| 2007 | 834 | #393 | 0.43 |
| 2006 | 814 | #393 | 0.43 |
| 2005 | 797 | #392 | 0.43 |
| 2004 | 845 | #369 | 0.46 |
| 2003 | 971 | #320 | 0.53 |
| 2002 | 1,041 | #300 | 0.58 |
| 2001 | 1,304 | #244 | 0.72 |
| 2000 | 1,389 | #228 | 0.76 |
| 1999 | 1,654 | #187 | 0.93 |
| 1998 | 1,744 | #170 | 1.0 |
| 1997 | 2,039 | #154 | 1.2 |
| 1996 | 2,485 | #128 | 1.4 |
| 1995 | 2,606 | #120 | 1.5 |
| 1994 | 2,553 | #124 | 1.4 |
| 1993 | 2,746 | #117 | 1.5 |
| 1992 | 2,745 | #123 | 1.5 |
| 1991 | 2,915 | #114 | 1.6 |
| 1990 | 3,028 | #111 | 1.6 |
| 1989 | 2,833 | #109 | 1.5 |
| 1988 | 2,831 | #100 | 1.6 |
| 1987 | 2,833 | #98 | 1.6 |
| 1986 | 2,699 | #103 | 1.6 |
| 1985 | 2,761 | #100 | 1.6 |
| 1984 | 2,652 | #103 | 1.6 |
| 1983 | 2,410 | #123 | 1.4 |
| 1982 | 2,473 | #120 | 1.5 |
| 1981 | 2,131 | #132 | 1.3 |
| 1980 | 2,047 | #142 | 1.2 |
| 1979 | 1,852 | #152 | 1.2 |
| 1978 | 1,694 | #162 | 1.1 |
| 1977 | 1,487 | #185 | 1.0 |
| 1976 | 1,438 | #177 | 1.0 |
| 1975 | 1,376 | #185 | 0.94 |
| 1974 | 1,188 | #215 | 0.81 |
| 1973 | 972 | #258 | 0.67 |
| 1972 | 980 | #269 | 0.64 |
| 1971 | 851 | #312 | 0.51 |
| 1970 | 886 | #313 | 0.51 |
| 1969 | 725 | #333 | 0.43 |
| 1968 | 483 | #433 | 0.29 |
| 1967 | 446 | #448 | 0.27 |
| 1966 | 262 | #584 | 0.15 |
| 1965 | 217 | #668 | 0.12 |
| 1964 | 201 | #734 | 0.11 |
| 1963 | 195 | #736 | 0.10 |
| 1962 | 180 | #779 | 0.09 |
| 1961 | 189 | #757 | 0.09 |
| 1960 | 150 | #850 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 141 | #869 | 0.07 |
| 1958 | 180 | #743 | 0.09 |
| 1957 | 122 | #934 | 0.06 |
| 1956 | 121 | #920 | 0.06 |
| 1955 | 115 | #919 | 0.06 |
| 1954 | 148 | #770 | 0.08 |
| 1953 | 143 | #765 | 0.08 |
| 1952 | 98 | #943 | 0.05 |
| 1951 | 93 | #965 | 0.05 |
| 1950 | 88 | #968 | 0.05 |
| 1949 | 101 | #874 | 0.06 |
| 1948 | 85 | #945 | 0.05 |
| 1947 | 78 | #1,006 | 0.04 |
| 1946 | 75 | #967 | 0.05 |
| 1945 | 55 | #1,057 | 0.04 |
| 1944 | 69 | #933 | 0.05 |
| 1943 | 61 | #1,026 | 0.04 |
| 1942 | 70 | #944 | 0.05 |
| 1941 | 65 | #915 | 0.05 |
| 1940 | 67 | #875 | 0.06 |
| 1939 | 60 | #916 | 0.05 |
| 1938 | 61 | #910 | 0.06 |
| 1937 | 55 | #938 | 0.05 |
| 1936 | 48 | #1,000 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 50 | #981 | 0.05 |
| 1934 | 47 | #1,017 | 0.05 |
| 1933 | 50 | #983 | 0.05 |
| 1932 | 52 | #988 | 0.05 |
| 1931 | 34 | #1,255 | 0.03 |
| 1930 | 65 | #907 | 0.06 |
| 1929 | 57 | #958 | 0.05 |
| 1928 | 67 | #901 | 0.06 |
| 1927 | 86 | #785 | 0.07 |
| 1926 | 92 | #755 | 0.08 |
| 1925 | 83 | #818 | 0.07 |
| 1924 | 96 | #764 | 0.08 |
| 1923 | 103 | #720 | 0.09 |
| 1922 | 115 | #681 | 0.10 |
| 1921 | 144 | #607 | 0.12 |
| 1920 | 119 | #664 | 0.10 |
| 1919 | 118 | #640 | 0.10 |
| 1918 | 139 | #605 | 0.12 |
| 1917 | 145 | #564 | 0.13 |
| 1916 | 160 | #517 | 0.15 |
| 1915 | 96 | #672 | 0.10 |
| 1914 | 67 | #709 | 0.09 |
| 1913 | 60 | #672 | 0.10 |
| 1912 | 59 | #657 | 0.11 |
| 1911 | 43 | #664 | 0.10 |
| 1910 | 45 | #634 | 0.11 |
| 1909 | 21 | #902 | 0.06 |
| 1908 | 23 | #824 | 0.07 |
| 1907 | 21 | #831 | 0.07 |
| 1906 | 28 | #698 | 0.09 |
| 1905 | 23 | #774 | 0.08 |
| 1904 | 24 | #723 | 0.09 |
| 1903 | 32 | #587 | 0.12 |
| 1902 | 19 | #815 | 0.07 |
| 1901 | 19 | #762 | 0.08 |
| 1900 | 44 | #513 | 0.15 |
| 1899 | 22 | #676 | 0.09 |
| 1898 | 19 | #786 | 0.07 |
| 1897 | 18 | #757 | 0.08 |
| 1896 | 19 | #748 | 0.08 |
| 1895 | 26 | #603 | 0.11 |
| 1894 | 21 | #659 | 0.09 |
| 1893 | 16 | #761 | 0.08 |
| 1892 | 19 | #679 | 0.09 |
| 1891 | 17 | #660 | 0.09 |
| 1890 | 8 | #1,080 | 0.04 |
| 1889 | 16 | #655 | 0.09 |
| 1888 | 18 | #607 | 0.10 |
| 1887 | 13 | #655 | 0.09 |
| 1886 | 14 | #630 | 0.10 |
| 1885 | 8 | #834 | 0.06 |
| 1884 | 7 | #910 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 9 | #683 | 0.08 |
| 1882 | 8 | #726 | 0.07 |
| 1881 | 8 | #667 | 0.09 |
| 1880 | 12 | #514 | 0.13 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Rachael a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Rachael has been given almost only to girls: 181 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Rachael: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Rachael, and how old are they?
76,700 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 93% of the 82,650 Americans ever recorded as Rachael. The median Rachael alive today is 38 years old; half are between 30 and 45.
The 2020 Census counted 75,096 people named Rachael (74,999 women and girls, 97 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 77,456 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 318 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,990 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 15,900 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 41,600 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 15,400 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,390 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Rachael born?
The states with the most babies named Rachael are California, Pennsylvania and New York, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 7,017 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 5,050 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| New York | 4,934 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Texas | 4,718 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 4,513 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 3,585 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Florida | 3,378 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 3,310 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Massachusetts | 2,468 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Indiana | 2,083 | not ranked | 1.0× |
Where Rachael is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Rachael is most over-represented in Pennsylvania: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Rachael with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 678,204 babies since 1880, Rachael is the second most given (12% of them). In 2025 it was given to 26 of their 1,287 babies (2.0%), the third most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Rachael
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Rachael and names like it
- Compare Rachael and RachelBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1990sRachael peaked in 1990.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Rachael since 1910.
- The top names of 1990The year the most babies were named Rachael.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Rachael alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with RMost given first.