Girls' name · since 1880
Rachael
Rachael has 82,469 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1990 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #434 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #4,990 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 82,469
- born since 1880
- 1980s
- peak decade
Yes -- Rachael is the #4990 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 82,469 recorded since 1880.
Rachael has 82,469 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #4990 as of the latest data, more common than 71% of girls, busiest in the 1980s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #434 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #4,990 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 82,469 born since 1880
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Rachael ranks #434 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #4,990 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 82,469 born since 1880, peaking in the 1980s.
- #434 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #4,990 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 82,469
- born since 1880
- 1980s
- peak decade
Rachael's 82,469 recorded births place it above 99.4% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Rachael compares
82,469 Top 3% higher than 97% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Rachael's all-time total is 219x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Rachael | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 82,469 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 3,028 | 21 | 19,840 |
Rachael's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Rachael splits its recorded history at 1953: 95% of all births land in the more recent half, 5% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1884 (7 births) -- compare that against the 1990 peak of 3,028 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Rachael popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1990)
- 3,028
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Rachael popularity over time - boys
181 total births recorded since 1968 (Rachael as boys' name)
Rachael by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (25,670 births, 31% of the file).
1980s was Rachael's strongest decade.
25,670 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 31% of all-time use.
Rachael births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 113
1880s
113 births
- 1890s 185
1890s
185 births
- 1900s 254
1900s
254 births
- 1910s 932
1910s
932 births
- 1920s 962
1920s
962 births
- 1930s 522
1930s
522 births
- 1940s 726
1940s
726 births
- 1950s 1,249
1950s
1,249 births
- 1960s 3,048
1960s
3,048 births
- 1970s
1970s
12,724 births
- 1980s
1980s
25,670 births
- 1990s
1990s
24,515 births
- 2000s 9,144
2000s
9,144 births
- 2010s 2,139
2010s
2,139 births
- 2020s 286
2020s
286 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 25,670 births (31% of all-time use).
How Rachael compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Rachael's total volume
Rachael by state
Where Rachael concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 7,017 | 8.5% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 5,050 | 6.1% |
| #3 | New York | | 4,934 | 6.0% |
| #4 | Texas | | 4,718 | 5.7% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 4,513 | 5.5% |
| #6 | Michigan | | 3,585 | 4.3% |
| #7 | Florida | | 3,378 | 4.1% |
| #8 | Illinois | | 3,310 | 4.0% |
7,017 of 82,469 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Rachael appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Where does Rachael sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Rachael most popular? ▼
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What to do with Rachael's data
- Rachael's decade-level peak was the 1980s (25,670 total births); usage has since declined to 286 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Rachaels (7,017 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Rachael
Nearby Names Like Rachael
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Rachael
Compare Rachael side by side: Rachael vs Rachel Rachael vs Rachelle Rachael vs Racheal
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Rachael
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Rachael: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1990)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Rachael draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.