# Rafael (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/rafael/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | Raf |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 89,947 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 89,379 / 568 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 4,495, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Compare Spanish Rafael, Portuguese Rafael.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 21 | 4,764 |
| 1994 | 12 | 7,478 |
| 1995 | 10 | 8,575 |
| 1996 | 10 | 8,669 |
| 1997 | 10 | 8,859 |
| 1998 | 12 | 7,909 |
| 1999 | 7 | 12,343 |
| 2001 | 6 | 14,892 |
| 2002 | 9 | 10,882 |
| 2003 | 8 | 12,130 |
| 2004 | 7 | 13,852 |
| 2005 | 5 | 18,517 |
| 2006 | 8 | 13,326 |
| 2008 | 6 | 17,003 |
| 2009 | 7 | 14,865 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,274 | 274 |
| 2012 | 1,231 | 287 |
| 2013 | 1,208 | 288 |
| 2014 | 1,205 | 293 |
| 2015 | 1,226 | 294 |
| 2016 | 1,238 | 291 |
| 2017 | 1,282 | 283 |
| 2018 | 1,405 | 258 |
| 2019 | 1,392 | 261 |
| 2020 | 1,424 | 247 |
| 2021 | 1,490 | 237 |
| 2022 | 1,517 | 232 |
| 2023 | 1,517 | 231 |
| 2024 | 1,621 | 222 |
| 2025 | 1,639 | 218 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 160 | 277 |
| 2012 | 183 | 259 |
| 2013 | 189 | 257 |
| 2014 | 175 | 275 |
| 2015 | 197 | 260 |
| 2016 | 229 | 240 |
| 2017 | 225 | 239 |
| 2018 | 265 | 203 |
| 2019 | 251 | 203 |
| 2020 | 276 | 187 |
| 2021 | 289 | 188 |
| 2022 | 279 | 181 |
| 2023 | 257 | 194 |
| 2024 | 231 | 215 |
| 2025 | 266 | 189 |

## People named Rafael

- Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentina de facto president (1925–2013)
- Rafael van der Vaart, Dutch association football player (born 1983)
- Rafael Pereira da Silva, Brazilian footballer (born 1990)
- Rafael Cabral, Brazilian association football player
- Rafael Grossi, Argentine diplomat
- Rafael Vitti, Brazilian actor
- Rafael Kubelik, Czech conductor, violinist and composer (1914–1996)
- Rafael Bastos, Brazilian association football player
- Rafael Sóbis, Brazilian footballer
- Rafael Casanova, Catalan lawyer and politician
- Rafael Paasio, Finnish politician (1903-1980)
- Rafael Núñez, author, lawyer, journalist, politician and President of Colombia (1825-1894)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.