Total births
91
Boys' name · since 1972
Rafiel
91 babies named Rafiel in U.S. Social Security records since 1972, with the highest year being 1981. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- 91
- total births
- 1972–2019
- years on record
- 1980s
- peak decade
- 42%
- born in that decade
Rafiel is not among the current top-ranked boys names; 91 have been recorded since 1972.
Rafiel has 91 recorded births among boys since 1972, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used boys names, 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 1972 to 2019.
- 91 total births
- 1972–2019 years on record
- 1980s peak decade
- 42% born in that decade
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
91 boys have been named Rafiel since 1972, peaking in the 1980s, last recorded in 2019.
- 91
- total births
- 1972–2019
- years on record
- 1980s
- peak decade
- 42%
- born in that decade
1980s
Peak decade
42% of everyone ever named Rafiel was born in this single decade.
1981
Single peak year
8 babies were named Rafiel in 1981 - its busiest year on record.
Rafiel's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Rafiel's full recorded timeline at 1989, 45% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 55% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1974, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1981 peak of 8 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Rafiel at a glance
Last recorded 2019Peak year
1981
Current rank
Unranked
Active since
1972
Rafiel popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1972–2019
- Peak year (1981)
- 8
- Annual births at peak, across 48 years of records
Rafiel by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1980s was Rafiel's strongest decade.
38 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 42% of all-time use.
Rafiel births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1970s
1970s
17 births
- 1980s
1980s
38 births
- 1990s 5
1990s
5 births
- 2000s 15
2000s
15 births
- 2010s
2010s
16 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 38 births (42% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Rafiel? ▼
Rafiel has been given to 91 babies in the U.S. since 1972, according to SSA data. Its last appearance in the data was 2019. 8 babies were born in 1981, its single highest year.
When was Rafiel most popular? ▼
Rafiel was most popular in the 1980s decade with 38 total births. The single peak year was 1981.
How long has the name Rafiel been used? ▼
Rafiel has been recorded in Social Security data since 1972, spanning 48 years of data through 2019.
What names are similar to Rafiel? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Rafael, Rafe, Raffaele, Rafeal, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.
What to do with Rafiel's data
- Rafiel's usage has stayed within range of its 1980s decade-level peak (38 total births) through the 2010s (16) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Rafiel
Nearby Names Like Rafiel
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Rafiel
Rafael Boy
#222 89,379 births
Rafe Boy
#1310 2,935 births
Raffaele Boy
#5259 1,079 births
Rafeal Boy
925 births
Raffi Boy
#6547 839 births
Compare Rafiel side by side: Rafiel vs Rafael Rafiel vs Rafe Rafiel vs Raffaele
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Data Sources
Data as of June 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, 1972–2019 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Rafiel: Baby Name Since 1972 - 91 Births, Peak 1981." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/rafiel. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 Rafiel 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 June 2026.