Rachel
Rachel was given to 1,225 girls in 2025, #250 among girls’ names; 575,748 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 506,000 Americans named Rachel and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (88% of everyone recorded); the median is 37 years old and half are between 29 and 46.
Rachel is the #34 most common first name among living American women and girls, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Rachel by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Rachel mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Rachel is “a female given name from Hebrew.” Its etymology gives the sense “ewe” (רָחֵל).
Borrowed from Late Latin Rāchēl, from Ancient Greek Ῥαχήλ (Rhakhḗl), from Biblical Hebrew רָחֵל (rāḫēl, “ewe”). Doublet of Raquel.
/ˈɹeɪ.tʃəl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Rachel?
#250 among girls’ names, 2025
Rachel fell from #167 in 2015 to #250 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 1.1 to 0.76 per 1,000.
16,437 babies in 1985, the peak
Rachel peaked in 1985, when 16,437 babies were given it (16,360 girls, #13 among girls’ names). The 1,225 births of 2025 are 7% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,225 | #250 | 0.76 |
| 2024 | 1,292 | #246 | 0.80 |
| 2023 | 1,224 | #254 | 0.76 |
| 2022 | 1,263 | #240 | 0.77 |
| 2021 | 1,271 | #239 | 0.77 |
| 2020 | 1,305 | #226 | 0.81 |
| 2019 | 1,548 | #191 | 0.92 |
| 2018 | 1,558 | #198 | 0.92 |
| 2017 | 1,622 | #191 | 0.94 |
| 2016 | 1,884 | #171 | 1.1 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,941 | #167 | 1.1 |
| 2014 | 2,090 | #155 | 1.2 |
| 2013 | 2,325 | #137 | 1.3 |
| 2012 | 2,420 | #130 | 1.4 |
| 2011 | 2,664 | #116 | 1.5 |
| 2010 | 3,024 | #99 | 1.7 |
| 2009 | 3,589 | #89 | 2.0 |
| 2008 | 4,087 | #74 | 2.2 |
| 2007 | 4,841 | #59 | 2.5 |
| 2006 | 5,551 | #48 | 2.9 |
| 2005 | 6,226 | #38 | 3.4 |
| 2004 | 6,923 | #34 | 3.8 |
| 2003 | 7,997 | #28 | 4.4 |
| 2002 | 8,944 | #24 | 5.0 |
| 2001 | 9,556 | #24 | 5.3 |
| 2000 | 10,687 | #21 | 5.9 |
| 1999 | 11,632 | #19 | 6.6 |
| 1998 | 12,209 | #15 | 6.9 |
| 1997 | 13,798 | #13 | 7.9 |
| 1996 | 16,121 | #9 | 9.2 |
| 1995 | 16,047 | #12 | 9.1 |
| 1994 | 15,492 | #13 | 8.7 |
| 1993 | 15,974 | #14 | 8.8 |
| 1992 | 15,840 | #16 | 8.6 |
| 1991 | 16,344 | #14 | 8.7 |
| 1990 | 15,710 | #16 | 8.3 |
| 1989 | 15,357 | #18 | 8.3 |
| 1988 | 15,348 | #19 | 8.6 |
| 1987 | 15,646 | #17 | 9.0 |
| 1986 | 15,455 | #15 | 9.0 |
| 1985 | 16,360 | #13 | 9.5 |
| 1984 | 15,839 | #15 | 9.4 |
| 1983 | 14,591 | #20 | 8.7 |
| 1982 | 13,871 | #21 | 8.2 |
| 1981 | 12,590 | #22 | 7.5 |
| 1980 | 11,618 | #23 | 7.0 |
| 1979 | 10,230 | #27 | 6.4 |
| 1978 | 9,802 | #25 | 6.4 |
| 1977 | 8,976 | #26 | 5.9 |
| 1976 | 8,453 | #23 | 5.8 |
| 1975 | 8,225 | #26 | 5.6 |
| 1974 | 7,399 | #36 | 5.0 |
| 1973 | 6,103 | #42 | 4.2 |
| 1972 | 6,417 | #40 | 4.2 |
| 1971 | 6,115 | #54 | 3.7 |
| 1970 | 6,029 | #58 | 3.4 |
| 1969 | 5,242 | #69 | 3.1 |
| 1968 | 3,727 | #92 | 2.3 |
| 1967 | 3,312 | #105 | 2.0 |
| 1966 | 2,277 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 1965 | 2,011 | #175 | 1.1 |
| 1964 | 2,261 | #173 | 1.2 |
| 1963 | 2,178 | #179 | 1.1 |
| 1962 | 1,941 | #194 | 1.0 |
| 1961 | 2,054 | #186 | 1.0 |
| 1960 | 1,792 | #198 | 0.89 |
| 1959 | 1,744 | #201 | 0.86 |
| 1958 | 1,663 | #201 | 0.83 |
| 1957 | 1,821 | #194 | 0.89 |
| 1956 | 1,672 | #197 | 0.83 |
| 1955 | 1,802 | #185 | 0.92 |
| 1954 | 1,805 | #182 | 0.93 |
| 1953 | 1,780 | #175 | 0.95 |
| 1952 | 1,599 | #185 | 0.86 |
| 1951 | 1,435 | #202 | 0.80 |
| 1950 | 1,454 | #189 | 0.85 |
| 1949 | 1,437 | #191 | 0.84 |
| 1948 | 1,388 | #195 | 0.82 |
| 1947 | 1,447 | #190 | 0.82 |
| 1946 | 1,234 | #196 | 0.79 |
| 1945 | 1,207 | #174 | 0.92 |
| 1944 | 1,250 | #172 | 0.94 |
| 1943 | 1,371 | #170 | 1.0 |
| 1942 | 1,427 | #163 | 1.1 |
| 1941 | 1,384 | #159 | 1.1 |
| 1940 | 1,264 | #166 | 1.1 |
| 1939 | 1,345 | #160 | 1.2 |
| 1938 | 1,279 | #165 | 1.2 |
| 1937 | 1,229 | #163 | 1.2 |
| 1936 | 1,208 | #163 | 1.2 |
| 1935 | 1,198 | #164 | 1.1 |
| 1934 | 1,181 | #163 | 1.1 |
| 1933 | 1,142 | #161 | 1.1 |
| 1932 | 1,254 | #156 | 1.2 |
| 1931 | 1,171 | #161 | 1.1 |
| 1930 | 1,261 | #164 | 1.1 |
| 1929 | 1,214 | #167 | 1.1 |
| 1928 | 1,180 | #177 | 1.0 |
| 1927 | 1,286 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1926 | 1,389 | #165 | 1.2 |
| 1925 | 1,439 | #165 | 1.2 |
| 1924 | 1,600 | #157 | 1.3 |
| 1923 | 1,483 | #160 | 1.2 |
| 1922 | 1,541 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 1921 | 1,583 | #152 | 1.3 |
| 1920 | 1,484 | #156 | 1.2 |
| 1919 | 1,488 | #150 | 1.3 |
| 1918 | 1,542 | #148 | 1.3 |
| 1917 | 1,339 | #157 | 1.2 |
| 1916 | 1,328 | #153 | 1.3 |
| 1915 | 1,205 | #156 | 1.2 |
| 1914 | 975 | #151 | 1.3 |
| 1913 | 827 | #145 | 1.3 |
| 1912 | 703 | #151 | 1.3 |
| 1911 | 537 | #150 | 1.3 |
| 1910 | 538 | #151 | 1.4 |
| 1909 | 462 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 1908 | 425 | #159 | 1.3 |
| 1907 | 420 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 1906 | 366 | #158 | 1.2 |
| 1905 | 421 | #143 | 1.4 |
| 1904 | 356 | #152 | 1.3 |
| 1903 | 383 | #142 | 1.5 |
| 1902 | 393 | #141 | 1.5 |
| 1901 | 369 | #135 | 1.5 |
| 1900 | 379 | #153 | 1.3 |
| 1899 | 324 | #145 | 1.4 |
| 1898 | 367 | #138 | 1.4 |
| 1897 | 297 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 1896 | 348 | #137 | 1.5 |
| 1895 | 351 | #130 | 1.5 |
| 1894 | 317 | #136 | 1.4 |
| 1893 | 321 | #134 | 1.5 |
| 1892 | 369 | #122 | 1.7 |
| 1891 | 267 | #134 | 1.4 |
| 1890 | 318 | #124 | 1.7 |
| 1889 | 266 | #134 | 1.5 |
| 1888 | 281 | #129 | 1.6 |
| 1887 | 226 | #126 | 1.5 |
| 1886 | 213 | #130 | 1.5 |
| 1885 | 212 | #122 | 1.6 |
| 1884 | 230 | #115 | 1.8 |
| 1883 | 174 | #121 | 1.5 |
| 1882 | 203 | #109 | 1.9 |
| 1881 | 157 | #114 | 1.7 |
| 1880 | 166 | #109 | 1.8 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Rachel a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Rachel has been given almost only to girls: 1,791 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Rachel: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Rachel, and how old are they?
506,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 88% of the 575,748 Americans ever recorded as Rachel. The median Rachel alive today is 37 years old; half are between 29 and 46.
The 2020 Census counted 493,726 people named Rachel (493,154 women and girls, 572 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 509,978 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 | 6,850 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 25,600 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 99,600 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 241,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 113,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 20,400 |
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 Rachel born?
The states with the most babies named Rachel are California, New York and Texas, with 24% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 53,711 | #478 | 0.8× |
| New York | 42,352 | #32 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 39,926 | #434 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 28,263 | #198 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 27,658 | #288 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 24,284 | #353 | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 22,664 | #501 | 1.0× |
| Florida | 20,618 | #355 | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 17,054 | #342 | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 15,929 | #52 | 0.9× |
Where Rachel is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Rachel is most over-represented in Tennessee: since 1910 it was given 1.1 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 Rachel 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 711,983 babies since 1880, Rachel is the most given (81% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,225 of their 1,333 babies (92%), again the most given.
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 Rachel
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 Rachel and names like it
- Compare Rachel and RachaelBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sRachel peaked in 1985.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Rachel since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Rachel: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1985The year the most babies were named Rachel.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Rachel alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with RMost given first.