Nameling

Rachel

Gender
Girl
Say it
RAY-chel
Origin
Hebrew
UK rank, 2025
#387 for girls
US rank, 2025
#250 for girls

Rachel is a girls' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “ewe”. In 2025 it ranked 387th for girls in the UK (121 babies) and 250th for girls in the US (1,225 babies).

What does Rachel mean?

Hebrew

“ewe”

In Genesis Rachel is Jacob's beloved wife and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.

More on Wiktionary.

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

Rachel is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 121 girls in the UK and 1,225 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Rachel in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#387among girls
Babies in 2025
121about 1 in 2,300 girls
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 33% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 121 girls in the UK were named Rachel, making it the 387th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 321st. Its busiest year was 1997, with 2,860 girls.

Half of all the girls named Rachel in the UK since 1996 were born between 1998 and 2006. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.

In 2025, 127 girls in the UK were given Rachel or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #376, up from #387 for this spelling alone.

Among girls in 2025, it was 394th in England and Wales, 324th in Scotland and 290th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1904 (#96), 1964 (#74), 1974 (#12), 1984 (#9), 1994 (#19) and 2004 (#65).

1996Busiest: 2,860 in 19972025
Rachel in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025121#387
2024121#393
2023126#374
2022136#356
2021166#321
2020160#321
2019189#281
2018203#269
2017247#230
2016258#222
2015275#212
2014287#207
2013328#182
2012336#169
2011401#152
2010508#128
2009602#103
2008699#92
2007836#81
20061,010#68
20051,111#57
20041,364#49
20031,609#37
20021,686#34
20011,824#33
20002,058#29
19992,487#23
19982,650#25
19972,860#21
19962,586#24

How popular is Rachel in the US?

Rank in 2025
#250among girls
Babies in 2025
1,225about 1 in 1,300 girls
Five-year trend
Steadydown 15% in five years
Same name in a class
1.1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 1,225 girls in the US were named Rachel, making it the 250th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 226th. Its busiest year was 1985, with 16,360 girls.

Half of all the girls named Rachel in the US since 1880 were born between 1975 and 1996, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 1,296 girls in the US were given Rachel or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #267.

1880Busiest: 16,360 in 19852025
Rachel in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
20251,225#250
20241,292#246
20231,224#254
20221,263#240
20211,271#239
20201,305#226
20191,548#191
20181,558#198
20171,622#191
20161,884#171
20151,941#167
20142,090#155
20132,325#137
20122,420#130
20112,664#115
20103,024#99
20093,589#89
20084,087#74
20074,841#59
20065,551#48
20056,226#38
20046,923#34
20037,997#28
20028,944#24
20019,556#24
200010,687#21
199911,632#19
199812,209#15
199713,798#13
199616,121#9
199516,047#12
199415,492#13
199315,974#14
199215,840#16
199116,344#14
199015,710#16
198915,357#18
198815,348#19
198715,646#17
198615,455#15
198516,360#13
198415,839#15
198314,591#20
198213,871#21
198112,590#22
198011,618#23
197910,230#27
19789,802#25
19778,976#26
19768,453#23
19758,225#26
19747,399#36
19736,103#42
19726,417#40
19716,115#54
19706,029#58
19695,242#69
19683,727#92
19673,312#105
19662,277#154
19652,011#175
19642,261#173
19632,178#179
19621,941#194
19612,054#186
19601,792#198
19591,744#201
19581,663#201
19571,821#194
19561,672#197
19551,802#185
19541,805#182
19531,780#175
19521,599#185
19511,435#202
19501,454#188
19491,437#191
19481,388#195
19471,447#190
19461,234#195
19451,207#174
19441,250#171
19431,371#170
19421,427#163
19411,384#159
19401,264#166
19391,345#160
19381,279#165
19371,229#163
19361,208#163
19351,198#164
19341,181#163
19331,142#161
19321,254#156
19311,171#161
19301,261#164
19291,214#167
19281,180#177
19271,286#169
19261,389#164
19251,439#165
19241,600#157
19231,483#160
19221,541#154
19211,583#152
19201,484#156
19191,488#149
19181,542#148
19171,339#157
19161,328#153
19151,205#156
1914975#151
1913827#145
1912703#151
1911537#150
1910538#150
1909462#154
1908425#159
1907420#154
1906366#158
1905421#143
1904356#152
1903383#142
1902393#141
1901369#135
1900379#153
1899324#145
1898367#138
1897297#154
1896348#137
1895351#130
1894317#136
1893321#134
1892369#122
1891267#133
1890318#124
1889266#134
1888281#129
1887226#126
1886213#130
1885212#122
1884230#114
1883174#121
1882203#109
1881157#113
1880166#109

Nicknames for Rachel

Names like Rachel

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

Sarah Hannah Molly Leah Anna Jessica Rebecca Sara Abigail Emily Zoe Elizabeth

Other spellings of Rachel

Rachael Rachell Rechel Racheal

Names related to Rachel

Rochel Ruchel Rachelle Rachele Racquel

More Hebrew names

Noah Isabella Elijah James Jack Mia Ava Jude Ezra Benjamin Isaac Jacob Ethan Daniel Samuel Elias

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, “Rachel: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/rachel, updated 20 October 2026.