Rachel
Pronounced R EY1 CH AH0 L (ARPABET)
- 2 syllables
- Peaked 1985
- 145 years in use
- Biblical
- 1 spelling
How popular is Rachel?
Rachel is a girls' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 661,299 children — the 45th most common girls' name on record.
It is falling away, down 62% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1985, when 19,220 children were given it.
Rachael is counted with it here, since the two are pronounced identically.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Rachel and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Rachael
Characteristics
- Biblical (Person)
- 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- R EY1 CH AH0 L
- Stress pattern:
- 10
- Syllables:
- 2
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Rachel
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Rachel
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Rachel?
- Rachel ranks 45th among girls' names in US records, with 661,299 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 16,065.
- Is Rachel a unisex name?
- No. Rachel is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
- When was Rachel most popular?
- 1985, when 19,220 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Rachel spelled?
- Rachael. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.