ninan.org

Rachel

Girls' name · Late 20th-century

Living in the US
~511,700 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#250 among girls
Births in 2025
1,225 575,748 since 1880
Typical age
36 years, median

Rachel popularity over time

Rachel rank by birth year, 1880–2025Rachel ranked #109 in 1880 and #250 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #9, in 1996.#10#100#250best #9 in 199618901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Rachel in 1985 than in any other year — 16,437 of them. It appears in the very first year SSA covers, 1880. Across the record, 43 years put Rachel in the top 100.

In 2025 it ranked #250 with 1,225 births. Over ten years the count has fallen 37%.

Babies named Rachel per yearPeaks at 16,437 births in 1985.16,437 in 1985018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Rachel?

About 511,700 people named Rachel are alive in the United States today. That is out of 575,748 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Rachel?

Median age among living Rachels: 36. The 1990s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Rachel a late 20th-century name.

Your Rachel

Ages of living people named RachelHalf of living Rachels are older than 36 and half younger.median 36020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Rachel is most common

Rachel is 4.5× as common in New York as it is nationally. New Jersey, Utah and Pennsylvania follow.

Where Rachel is used more than average5 states use the name Rachel more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: 4.5× the national rateNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: 1.6× the national ratePANew Jersey: 4.2× the national rateNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: 1.8× the national rateUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: 1.4× the national rateMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Rachel is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
New York 3,193 4.5×
New Jersey 1,309 4.2×
Utah 264 1.8×
Pennsylvania 697 1.6×
Maryland 267 1.4×

Rachel in England and Wales

ONS recorded 106 births named Rachel in 2025, ranking it #394.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Rachel comes from

Borrowed from Late Latin Rāchēl, from Ancient Greek Ῥαχήλ, from Biblical Hebrew רָחֵל (“ewe”). Doublet of Raquel.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Rachel

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Rachel Carson American marine biologist and conservationist 1907–1964 110
Rachel McAdams Canadian actress 1978 92
Rachel Weisz British actress 1970 91
Rachel Maddow American television news host and political commentator 1973 56
Rachel Zegler American actress 2001 52
Rachel Corrie American anti-war and human rights activist 1979–2003 49
Rachel Bilson American actress 1981 47
Rachel Griffiths Australian actress 1968 45
Photo credits (5)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/rachel.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).