Recorded 1921–2023 Boys' name Peak 1991 168 births

Raphel — boys' name

168 babies named Raphel in U.S. Social Security records since 1921, with the highest year being 1991. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1920s181940s51960s81970s321980s651990s242000s112020s5
1980s
Peak decade

39% of everyone ever named Raphel was born in this single decade.

1991
Single peak year

11 babies were named Raphel in 1991 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Raphel

The Social Security Administration has registered 168 babies named Raphel between 1921 and 2023, spanning 103 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Raphel currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 2023. The name reached its historical peak in 1991, when 11 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Raphel performed strongest in the 1980s, accumulating 65 births during that ten-year window. Across the 8 decades of recorded activity, Raphel shows a clear decline from its mid-century high.

No etymological entry is currently available for Raphel in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 168 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Raphel at a glance

Last recorded 2023

Total births

168

Since 1921

103 years of records

Peak year

1991

11 births that year

Strongest decade: 1980s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 2023

Active since

1921

Recorded for 103 years

Last year on file: 2023

Raphel popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2023–1921

Last recorded 2023
Peak year (1991)
11
Annual births at peak — across 103 years of records
4681012 202319971989198619831977197019281921 5

Raphel by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1980s
Peak decade
1980s
65 births that decade — 39% of Raphel's all-time total
1920s181940s51960s81970s321980s651990s242000s112020s5

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Raphel?
168 babies have been named Raphel since 1921. It was last recorded in 2023. The peak year was 1991 with 11 births.
When was Raphel most popular?
Raphel was most popular in the 1980s decade with 65 total births. The single peak year was 1991.
How long has the name Raphel been used?
Raphel has been recorded in Social Security data since 1921, spanning 103 years of data through 2023.
What names are similar to Raphel?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Raphael, Rapheal, Rapha, Raphiel. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1921–2023 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.