Rachel

femaleBiblical Hebrew, via Greek Rhakhel

Commonly interpreted as 'ewe' (female sheep), the biblical wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin.

Origin: Biblical Hebrew, via Greek Rhakhel

Official popularity data is available for 7 regions, from 1951 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #3 in New Zealand in 1973. See regions.

Rachel: Recorded since 1951, it reached #3 in 1971, and it stood at #186 in 2025.

7registrars recorded it
260times a registrar ranked it
75years from first to last
#3highest recorded position
49groupings it qualifies for
55names it appears alongside

What stands out in Rachel's record

Ranked inside the top 10 by 4 registrars. Names by top-10 reach
Held a top-100 place for 53 years running. Names by top-100 run
England and Wales registered 2,120 births with the name in 1997, its largest count from any one registrar. Names by yearly birth count
Appears alongside 55 other names across 9 kinds of recorded relationship. All recorded relationships

RAY-chəl/ˈreɪtʃəl/

Compare Rachel Run Name Checker on Rachel

Data Confidence

Evidence: ModerateCompleteness: SubstantialEditorial review: 2026-07-21

Confidence in the evidencebehind this name's data — never a rating of the name itself, and never affected by how well it matches your preferences. How this is assessed

Because: backed by officially or academically authoritative sources, recently verified, popularity data covers multiple regions.

Source authority

Averaged from the real per-claim source-authority assessments already computed for this name's meaning/origin/pronunciation/popularity evidence.

Independent corroboration

Averaged from the real per-claim supporting-source counts already computed for this name's evidence.

See full evidence assessment (8 dimensions, 1 not yet tracked)

Source agreement

No recorded source disagreement for this name's meanings or origins.

Recency

Calculated from how long ago this record was last verified (2026-07-21), against a 270-day staleness threshold.

Geographic relevance

Calculated from the number of geographies with official popularity data (7) — broader official coverage means the evidence base is relevant to more of where the name is actually used.

Completeness

Calculated from how many of the expected data sections (variants, similar names, popularity, notable usage, IPA pronunciation) are actually populated for this name.

Direct observation vs. inference

Averaged from the real per-claim direct-observation-vs-inference ratios already computed for this name's evidence.

Identity & variant resolution quality

Cross-source identity and variant resolution requires HEKNO Knowledge, which isn't connected yet.

Name Characteristics

How these are calculated

Descriptive attributes of the name itself — not a confidence measurement, and not an overall quality score. Namewise doesn't approve or disapprove of names.

Pronunciation clarity

Editorial judgement of how consistently this name is pronounced correctly on first read, mapped from an easy/moderate/variable rating to a number. Describes the name — not a measure of evidence confidence.

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling: shorter names with fewer irregular letter clusters score higher. A disclosed formula, not an editorial opinion — and not a confidence measurement.

Recorded regional spread

Derived from how many geographies' official statistics record this name. It measures where the name is registered, not how well-known it feels to people living there.

International spread

Derived from the same official statistical coverage, scaled to reflect how widely the name crosses national datasets. Not a measure of how easily it is understood in another language.

Trend stability

Derived from the name's traditional/modern classification and its current popularity trend direction.

Overview

Origin: Biblical Hebrew, via Greek Rhakhel
Meaning: Commonly interpreted as 'ewe' (female sheep), the biblical wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin.
Pronunciation: RAY-chəl
Syllables: 2
Common nicknames: None recorded
Classification: Traditional & modern
Gender usage: female
Language family: Biblical Hebrew, via Greek Rhakhel

Popularity

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2025

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#27
1997	#28
1998	#29
1999	#30
2000	#36
2001	#39
2002	#44
2003	#48
2004	#65
2005	#79
2006	#84
2007	#98
2008	#117
2009	#140
2010	#161
2011	#190
2012	#219
2013	#227
2014	#235
2015	#272
2016	#263
2017	#283
2018	#323
2019	#331
2020	#352
2021	#367
2022	#395
2023	#421
2024	#377
2025	#394

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Norway in 58 of the 74 years from 1951 to 2024.

In 2025: #186 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #394 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 7 national registrars across 7 regions, 1951–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1951
First recorded at #379 among girls in Norway in 1951 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #394 among girls in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Girls

Rachel appears in 6 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, with 62 ranked years and 14,435 births registered; the earliest is Norway · Girls, from 1951.

Rachel across 6 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Rachel's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Norway · Girls	#379 (1951)	#214 (1973)	#472 (2024)	58 of 74	614 (1951–2024)	22 (1973)
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#180 (1964)	#6 (1997)	#186 (2025)	62 of 62	14,435 (1964–2025)	543 (1997)
New Zealand · Girls	#70 (1965)	#3 (1971)	#98 (2006)	42 of 42	9,769 (1965–2006)	584 (1971)
New South Wales, Australia · Girls	#75 (1968)	#10 (1991)	#71 (2007)	40 of 40	10,874 (1968–2007)	413 (1991)
England and Wales · Girls	#27 (1996)	#27 (1996)	#394 (2025)	30 of 30	19,140 (1996–2025)	2,120 (1997)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#10 (1997)	#7 (2003)	#142 (2023)	27 of 27	2,431 (1997–2023)	223 (1997)

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Inside a single year a registrar's ranking is its birth counts put in order, so the top of a list is always the name given to the most babies that year. Across years the two separate, because the number of births and the number of names sharing them both change.

In Northern Ireland · Girls the name reached its highest position, #7, in 2003, when 174 births were registered with it. More were registered in 1997 — 223 — in a year it ranked #10.

Rachel by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Rachel in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	342	6 of 10	57
1970s	1,915	10 of 10	192
1980s	2,894	10 of 10	289
1990sbusiest	4,243	10 of 10	424
2000s	3,534	10 of 10	353
2010s	1,302	10 of 10	130
2020s	205	6 of 10	34

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1990s were its busiest decade, averaging 424 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1996 and 1997, when recorded births rose by 146, from 397 to 543.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Rachel appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

What the record shows

Recorded by 7 registrars between 1951 and 2025, ranked in 67 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #3, first reached in 1971.

It held a top-100 place in 54 years, 53 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 2,120 births, registered in England and Wales in 1997.

4 registrars ranked it inside their own top 10.

Its record falls into 3 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 6 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1964, and 73 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Rachel was ranked #3 in New Zealand · Girls in 1971. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Rachael · #25, 62y
Racheal · #322, 31y
Rachelle · #100, 23y
Radha · #215, 28y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 7 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Benjamin · #3, 65y
Elias · #3, 66y
Leo · #3, 69y
Lucy · #3, 62y

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1950 and 1959.

Adam · #3, 73y
Adrian · #3, 73y
Benjamin · #3, 65y
Caroline · #3, 69y

Comparisons involving Rachel

Existing comparison pages where Rachel and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Longest shared records

Names ranked alongside Rachel in the same published list across at least 25 years.

Rachel vs Danielle
In 1996 they stood at #27 and #20 in England and Wales · Girls, 7 places apart; by 2025 they were #394 and #1454.
Rachel · Danielle · 30 shared years, 1996–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 England and Wales ranking
Rachel vs Natasha
In 1996 they stood at #27 and #33 in England and Wales · Girls, 6 places apart; by 2025 they were #394 and #1362.
Rachel · Natasha · 30 shared years, 1996–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 England and Wales ranking
Rachel vs Chelsea
In 1996 they stood at #27 and #34 in England and Wales · Girls, 7 places apart; by 2025 they were #394 and #983.
Rachel · Chelsea · 30 shared years, 1996–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 England and Wales ranking

Closest long-running positions

Names that stayed close to Rachel within one registrar's list over many years. A gap measured inside that list, never across registrars.

Rachel vs Ashleigh
Across 21 shared years in New South Wales, Australia · Girls, Rachel and Ashleigh averaged 7.0 places apart, ending at #88 and #87.
Rachel · Ashleigh · 21 shared years, 1985–2005 · Closest over the longest run
See the 2005 New South Wales, Australia ranking
Rachel vs Natalie
Across 40 shared years in New South Wales, Australia · Girls, Rachel and Natalie averaged 10.6 places apart, ending at #71 and #51.
Rachel · Natalie · 40 shared years, 1968–2007 · Closest over the longest run
See the 2007 New South Wales, Australia ranking
Amanda vs Rachel
Across 33 shared years in New Zealand · Girls, Amanda and Rachel averaged 13.2 places apart, ending at #72 and #28.
Amanda · Rachel · 33 shared years, 1965–1997 · Closest over the longest run
See the 1997 New Zealand ranking

Order changes

Pairs where Rachel and another name exchanged position in a published list, taken as the final meaningful change.

Grace vs Rachel
In 2006, Grace moved ahead of Rachel in Northern Ireland · Girls — #22 and #15 the year before became #2 and #27.
Grace · Rachel · 27 shared years, 1997–2023 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 2006 Northern Ireland ranking
Karen vs Rachel
In 1971, Rachel moved ahead of Karen in New Zealand · Girls — #3 and #4 the year before became #6 and #3.
Karen · Rachel · 22 shared years, 1965–1986 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 1971 New Zealand ranking
Katie vs Rachel
In 2002, Katie moved ahead of Rachel in Northern Ireland · Girls — #12 and #10 the year before became #3 and #12.
Katie · Rachel · 27 shared years, 1997–2023 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 2002 Northern Ireland ranking

Compared inside New Zealand lists

Pairs involving Rachel measured in New Zealand's own published lists — the registrar that recorded Rachel at its highest position.

Rachel vs Andrea
In 1970, Rachel moved ahead of Andrea in New Zealand · Girls — #22 and #18 the year before became #4 and #20.
Rachel · Andrea · 24 shared years, 1965–1988 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 1970 New Zealand ranking
Christine vs Rachel
In 1970, Rachel moved ahead of Christine in New Zealand · Girls — #19 and #22 the year before became #24 and #4.
Christine · Rachel · 26 shared years, 1965–1998 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 1970 New Zealand ranking
Rachel vs Deborah
In 1970, Rachel moved ahead of Deborah in New Zealand · Girls — #22 and #8 the year before became #4 and #10.
Rachel · Deborah · 20 shared years, 1965–1985 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 1970 New Zealand ranking

New Zealand overview→

Rachel and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,577 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Rachel without appearing here.

Rachel moved ahead of

Roisin
In 2017 they stood at #86 and #37 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2018 that had become #106 and #474.
Vigdis
In 1988 they stood at #407 and #312 in Norway · Girls; by 1989 that had become #294 and #595.
Grete
In 1999 they stood at #381 and #372 in Norway · Girls; by 2000 that had become #337 and #596.
Janet
In 1982 they stood at #331 and #311 in Norway · Girls; by 1983 that had become #283 and #535.

Moved ahead of Rachel

Cassandra
In 2001 they stood at #339 and #348 in Norway · Girls; by 2002 that had become #474 and #206.
Julie Compare
In 1961 they stood at #379 and #397 in Norway · Girls; by 1962 that had become #515 and #344.
Vanessa
In 1986 they stood at #283 and #493 in Norway · Girls; by 1987 that had become #464 and #315.
Tuva
In 1984 they stood at #246 and #295 in Norway · Girls; by 1985 that had become #332 and #203.

Moved the opposite way to Rachel

Caoimhe
Between 1966 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Rachel went from #123 to #186 while Caoimhe went from #380 to #31.
Deirdre
Between 1964 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Rachel went from #180 to #96 while Deirdre went from #14 to #871.
Janet
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Rachel went from #180 to #106 while Janet went from #106 to #896.
Lorraine
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Rachel went from #180 to #106 while Lorraine went from #47 to #896.

Moved the same way as Rachel

Bente
Between 1951 and 2011 in Norway · Girls, Rachel went from #379 to #594 and Bente from #18 to #568.
Camilla
Between 1966 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Rachel went from #123 to #189 and Camilla from #236 to #556.
May
Between 1967 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Rachel went from #109 to #186 and May from #315 to #718.
Vibeke
Between 1951 and 2008 in Norway · Girls, Rachel went from #379 to #611 and Vibeke from #157 to #458.

Meaning & Origin

Commonly interpreted as 'ewe' (female sheep), the biblical wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin.

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name, Online Etymology Dictionary.Confidence: high.

Biblical Hebrew, via Greek Rhakhel

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Other names with a researched meaning and origin →

Where Rachel is officially recorded

7 official registrars have recorded Rachel, between 1951 and 2025, in 67 of those 75 years. Each registrar publishes for its own population on its own methodology, so the positions below are each one country's own ranking and are not comparable with one another.

Registrar	Recorded	Years	Its own highest position
Norway	1951–2024	58	#214 in 1973
Republic of Ireland	1964–2025	62	#6 in 1997
New Zealand	1965–2006	42	#3 in 1971
New South Wales, Australia	1968–2007	40	#10 in 1991
England and Wales	1996–2025	30	#27 in 1996
Northern Ireland	1997–2023	27	#7 in 2003
Scotland	2024	1	#431 in 2024

Its high point came 53 years earlier in New Zealand (1971) than in Scotland (2024).

No registrar recorded it for 6 years after 1954; it appears again in 1961.

Variants

No spelling variants or nicknames recorded yet.

Similar Names

No similar names recorded yet for this name.

Similarity is a demonstration score — see methodology.

Spelling

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling — see Name Characteristics above.

No commonly used alternate spellings recorded.

Pronunciation

RAY-chəl/ˈreɪtʃəl/

Syllables: 2
Ease: easy

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Where Rachel Is Recorded

National statistical agencies have recorded Rachel in these places. This shows where the name is used — not where it comes from, and not that it carries particular cultural significance there.

New South Wales, AustraliaEngland and WalesNorthern IrelandScotlandRepublic of IrelandNorwayNew Zealand

Notable Usage

No safely-sourced notable usage recorded for this name yet.

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

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Rachel

Rachel at a glance

What stands out in Rachel's record

Overview

Popularity

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Rachel across 6 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Rachel by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Rachel appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Rachel

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Comparisons involving Rachel

Longest shared records

Closest long-running positions

Order changes

Compared inside New Zealand lists

Rachel and the names beside it

Rachel moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Rachel

Moved the opposite way to Rachel

Moved the same way as Rachel

Meaning & Origin

Where Rachel is officially recorded

Variants

Similar Names

Spelling

Pronunciation

Where Rachel Is Recorded

Notable Usage

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Rachel at a glance

What stands out in Rachel's record

Rachel across 6 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Rachel by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Rachel appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Rachel

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Comparisons involving Rachel

Longest shared records

Closest long-running positions

Order changes

Compared inside New Zealand lists

Rachel and the names beside it

Rachel moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Rachel

Moved the opposite way to Rachel

Moved the same way as Rachel