Names › Girl › R › Rachel
Girl name

Rachel

/ˈɹeɪtʃəl/ · 100% girls · #250 in the US for girls, 2025

Rachel has been given to about 575,748 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1985, which makes it a Gen X and millennial name.

Meaning—
Origin—
Syllables2
Pronunciation/ˈɹeɪtʃəl/
Nicknames—
Living in the US≈ 517,421
Median age today38 years

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Rachel per year · SSA, ONS, NRS, CSO, INSEE and SSB
18802025
United StatesEngland & WalesScotlandIrelandFranceNorwayeach scaled to its own peak
  • Peak year1985 · 16,437
  • Born in 20251,225
  • All time575,748
  • England & Wales, 2025#394 · 106

How popular is Rachel?

Rachel ranks 250th among American girls in 2025, with 1,225 born that year. Its best year was 1985, when 16,437 babies were given the name, ranking 13th. The typical living American called Rachel is about 38 years old today. It is relatively most common in New York, where it accounts for 0.19% of births.

Names that sound like Rachel

Phonetic similarity, 0–1
  1. Rachael0.84
  2. Rochel0.80
  3. Racheal0.78
  4. Rachelle0.72
  5. Raquel0.70
  6. Racquel0.71
  7. Michel0.68
  8. Angel0.62

Middle names for Rachel

Ranked by flow score
  1. Rachel Anne0.81
  2. Rachel Catherine0.78
  3. Rachel Josephine0.78
  4. Rachel Marie0.77
  5. Rachel Grace0.77
  6. Rachel Eve0.77

Sibling names for Rachel

Same era, comparable use, no clash
  1. Aaronbrother · 0.97
  2. Nicolesister · 0.97
  3. Adambrother · 0.97
  4. Justinbrother · 0.96
  5. Sarasister · 0.96
  6. Laurensister · 0.96

Where Rachel is strongest

Share of 2025 births by state
  1. New York0.19%
  2. New Jersey0.18%
  3. Montana0.08%
  4. Idaho0.07%
  5. Maryland0.06%

With a common surname

Flow score against the most-used American surnames · try your own
  1. Rachel Anderson0.77
  2. Rachel White0.72
  3. Rachel Nguyen0.72
  4. Rachel Moore0.72
  5. Rachel Hill0.72
  6. Rachel Hall0.72

How to read these numbers

Every score on this page is explained
  1. Phonetic similarity0–1
  2. Middle-name flow0–1
  3. Sibling fit0–1
  4. Living population estimatemethod
  5. PronunciationCMU dictionary

Sources for Rachel

Every figure on this page is public record
  1. United States1880–2025
  2. England & Wales1996–2025
  3. Scotland1974–2020
  4. Ireland1998–2019
  5. France1900–2025
  6. Norway1945–2025
  7. PronunciationCMU dictionary

Rachel across America

Share of 2025 births in each state. Darker means more common.
ME
WA
VT
NH
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
CA
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
DC
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
SC
AK
TX
GA
FL
HI
raremost common

Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.