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Ariel

Gender
Unisex
Say it
AIR-ee-el
Origin
Hebrew
UK rank, 2025
#996 for girls
US rank, 2025
#355 for girls

Ariel is a name of Hebrew origin, meaning “lion of God”. In 2025 it ranked 996th for girls in the UK (37 babies) and 355th for girls in the US (851 babies).

What does Ariel mean?

Hebrew

“lion of God”

A poetic name for Jerusalem in the Book of Isaiah, and the airy spirit in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Ariel a girl's or a boy's name?

In recent years, Ariel has been given to both girls and boys. In 2025, it was given to 37 girls and 30 boys in the UK and 851 girls and 533 boys in the US.

How popular is Ariel in the UK?

Rank in 2025
996th among girls
Babies in 2025
37 about 1 in 7,500 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 11% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 37 girls in the UK were named Ariel, making it the 996th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 720th. Its busiest year was 2020, with 56 girls. 30 boys were also named Ariel in 2025 (1,080th for boys).

Half of all the girls named Ariel in the UK since 1996 were born between 2014 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 1998, 42% of the babies named Ariel in the UK were girls. By 2025 it was 55%, with more girls than boys since 2013.

Among girls in 2025, it was 951st in England and Wales.

1998Busiest: 56 in 20202025
Ariel in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202537#996
202441#928
202345#856
202234#1,066
202138#993
202056#720
201945#878
201837#1,028
201739#1,009
201626#1,361
201536#1,062
201433#1,131
201320#1,617
201211#2,463
201117#1,755
201016#1,829
200917#1,691
200814#1,943
200710#2,354
200611#2,119
20050–
20044#3,916
20030–
20029#2,040
20010–
20006#2,554
19997#2,295
19988#2,110

How popular is Ariel in the US?

Rank in 2025
355th among girls
Babies in 2025
851 about 1 in 1,900 girls
Five-year trend
Falling down 40% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 851 girls in the US were named Ariel, making it the 355th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 199th. Its busiest year was 1991, with 5,411 girls. It first appears in the records in 1892. 533 boys were also named Ariel in 2025 (558th for boys).

It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 11 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Ariel than any year since 1987.

Half of all the girls named Ariel in the US since 1880 were born between 1992 and 2014, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 898 girls in the US were given Ariel or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #366.

In 2025, 61% of the babies named Ariel in the US were girls.

1892Busiest: 5,411 in 19912025
Ariel in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025851#355
20241,055#300
20231,096#287
20221,295#236
20211,351#220
20201,472#199
20191,685#172
20181,832#154
20172,076#142
20162,199#140
20152,358#137
20142,445#132
20132,140#145
20121,742#181
20111,438#220
20101,462#213
20091,577#205
20081,553#217
20071,784#188
20061,734#202
20051,568#222
20041,546#219
20031,548#213
20021,548#215
20011,654#197
20001,753#184
19991,834#171
19982,150#147
19972,212#145
19961,924#163
19952,149#151
19942,187#145
19932,707#121
19923,961#87
19915,411#66
19903,607#94
19891,284#209
1988911#277
1987626#373
1986653#364
1985600#379
1984636#362
1983650#348
1982584#394
1981228#722
1980181#853
1979154#950
1978162#895
1977105#1,175
197663#1,585
197560#1,625
197436#2,213
197342#1,939
197231#2,356
197126#2,736
197038#2,120
196930#2,350
196827#2,360
196713#3,655
196610#4,197
196511#3,951
196416#3,243
19639#4,538
19620–
196111#4,008
196012#3,687
19595#6,244
19580–
195711#3,695
19565#5,951
19550–
19548#4,276
195310#3,686
19528#4,122
19517#4,384
19509#3,660
19498#3,891
19485#5,241
194713#2,897
194611#3,033
19458#3,386
19446#4,052
194316#2,250
19428#3,442
194111#2,666
19400–
19397#3,427
193811#2,578
19378#3,145
193611#2,520
19358#3,154
19346#3,800
19337#3,405
19328#3,272
19319#2,970
19308#3,343
192914#2,300
19287#3,741
192712#2,698
19268#3,563
192512#2,777
192411#2,972
192310#3,124
192217#2,186
192116#2,282
192022#1,816
191911#2,812
191825#1,600
191715#2,203
191627#1,408
191523#1,523
19147#2,875
191319#1,308
19129#1,980
191114#1,241
19106#2,140
19097#1,763
190812#1,203
19079#1,384
19068#1,416
19055#1,930
19046#1,658
19030–
19020–
19010–
19005#1,931
18995#1,595
18980–
18970–
18960–
18950–
18945#1,484
18930–
18925#1,450

Nicknames for Ariel

Names like Ariel

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Ava, Aria, Athena, Delilah, Abigail, Autumn, Fatima, Mia, Aurora, Eliana, Amelie, Isabella

Other spellings of Ariel

Eriel, Ariell, Aryel, Arial, Aerial

Names related to Ariel

Ariella, Arielle, Arlie, Uriel, Ariela, Arel, Areli, Ariele, Arely, Yariel

More Hebrew names

Noah, Elijah, James, Jack, Jude, Ezra, Benjamin, Isaac, Jacob, Ethan, Daniel, Samuel, Elias, Mateo, Elsie, Levi

Every Hebrew name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Ariel: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ariel, updated 20 October 2026.