Wael
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- WAH-el
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #5,065 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #6,442 for boys
Wael is a boys' name of Arabic origin, meaning “one who seeks refuge”. In 2025 it ranked 5,065th for boys in the UK (3 babies) and 6,442nd for boys in the US (13 babies).
What does Wael mean?
Arabic: Arabic Wa'il
“one who seeks refuge”
An old Arabic name, found in the ancient tribe of Bakr ibn Wa'il.
Is Wael a girl's or a boy's name?
Wael is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 3 boys in the UK and 13 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Wael in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,065among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 3about 1 in 100,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Fallingdown 32% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 3 boys in the UK were named Wael, making it the 5,065th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,819th. Its busiest year was 2019, with 9 boys.
2025 had fewer boys named Wael than any year since 2018.
Half of all the boys named Wael in the UK since 1996 were born between 2009 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,974th in England and Wales.
Wael in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | #5,065 |
| 2024 | 6 | #3,335 |
| 2023 | 4 | #4,335 |
| 2022 | 7 | #2,922 |
| 2021 | 7 | #2,886 |
| 2020 | 7 | #2,819 |
| 2019 | 9 | #2,399 |
| 2018 | 3 | #4,959 |
| 2017 | 6 | #3,191 |
| 2016 | 4 | #4,214 |
| 2015 | 7 | #2,855 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 3 | #4,999 |
| 2011 | 3 | #4,837 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 4 | #3,909 |
| 2008 | 5 | #3,305 |
| 2007 | 4 | #3,748 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 6 | #2,545 |
| 2004 | 3 | #3,792 |
| 2003 | 3 | #3,593 |
How popular is Wael in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #6,442among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 13about 1 in 130,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 6% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 13 boys in the US were named Wael, making it the 6,442nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 8,734th. Its busiest year was 2015, with 23 boys. It first appears in the records in 1977.
Half of all the boys named Wael in the US since 1880 were born between 1996 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
Wael in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13 | #6,442 |
| 2024 | 20 | #4,886 |
| 2023 | 11 | #7,284 |
| 2022 | 23 | #4,438 |
| 2021 | 17 | #5,333 |
| 2020 | 8 | #8,734 |
| 2019 | 19 | #4,947 |
| 2018 | 20 | #4,735 |
| 2017 | 16 | #5,522 |
| 2016 | 19 | #4,941 |
| 2015 | 23 | #4,293 |
| 2014 | 10 | #7,557 |
| 2013 | 16 | #5,400 |
| 2012 | 10 | #7,553 |
| 2011 | 11 | #7,002 |
| 2010 | 9 | #8,133 |
| 2009 | 10 | #7,687 |
| 2008 | 12 | #6,758 |
| 2007 | 13 | #6,259 |
| 2006 | 11 | #6,899 |
| 2005 | 8 | #8,292 |
| 2004 | 10 | #6,970 |
| 2003 | 7 | #8,636 |
| 2002 | 17 | #4,496 |
| 2001 | 13 | #5,383 |
| 2000 | 8 | #7,409 |
| 1999 | 15 | #4,531 |
| 1998 | 10 | #5,834 |
| 1997 | 9 | #6,094 |
| 1996 | 10 | #5,528 |
| 1995 | 7 | #6,985 |
| 1994 | 9 | #5,862 |
| 1993 | 5 | #8,693 |
| 1992 | 7 | #6,662 |
| 1991 | 9 | #5,513 |
| 1990 | 10 | #4,986 |
| 1989 | 5 | #7,898 |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 7 | #5,453 |
| 1986 | 8 | #4,848 |
| 1985 | 7 | #5,142 |
| 1984 | 10 | #3,922 |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 5 | #6,383 |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 8 | #4,493 |
| 1979 | 5 | #6,054 |
| 1978 | 11 | #3,399 |
| 1977 | 9 | #3,834 |
Names like Wael
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Muhammad Hamza Musa Ahmed Abdullah Umar Mustafa Zayd Amir Zayan Yahya Ibrahim
Names related to Wael
More Arabic names
Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Aaliyah Amira Fatima Ali Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Kairo Safa Liyana
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, “Wael: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/wael, updated 20 October 2026.