# Raphael (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/raphael/  
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 | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “god cures/has healed” |
| Pronunciation | /ˌɹɑ.faɪˈɛl/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Rafa, Rafe, Raph |
| Variant spellings | Rafael |
| US babies named this | 24,581 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 24,258 / 323 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 5,777, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Latin Raphael, from Koine Greek Ῥᾱφᾱήλ (Rhāphāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew רָפָאֵל (Rāfāʾēl, literally “God cures/has healed”).

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 7 | 7,747 |
| 1977 | 5 | 10,807 |
| 1979 | 12 | 5,658 |
| 1981 | 5 | 11,673 |
| 1982 | 6 | 10,129 |
| 1983 | 6 | 9,900 |
| 1984 | 6 | 10,026 |
| 1985 | 5 | 11,984 |
| 1986 | 9 | 7,577 |
| 1987 | 5 | 12,723 |
| 1988 | 8 | 9,010 |
| 1989 | 9 | 8,553 |
| 1998 | 6 | 13,723 |
| 2009 | 5 | 19,550 |
| 2024 | 5 | 17,141 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 356 | 668 |
| 2012 | 387 | 629 |
| 2013 | 423 | 600 |
| 2014 | 461 | 596 |
| 2015 | 533 | 537 |
| 2016 | 551 | 533 |
| 2017 | 561 | 516 |
| 2018 | 536 | 529 |
| 2019 | 545 | 523 |
| 2020 | 559 | 513 |
| 2021 | 548 | 538 |
| 2022 | 641 | 483 |
| 2023 | 686 | 453 |
| 2024 | 751 | 420 |
| 2025 | 807 | 394 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 199 | 240 |
| 2012 | 218 | 236 |
| 2013 | 221 | 234 |
| 2014 | 243 | 231 |
| 2015 | 245 | 233 |
| 2016 | 240 | 235 |
| 2017 | 289 | 189 |
| 2018 | 288 | 183 |
| 2019 | 299 | 176 |
| 2020 | 293 | 182 |
| 2021 | 293 | 180 |
| 2022 | 314 | 163 |
| 2023 | 339 | 156 |
| 2024 | 320 | 158 |
| 2025 | 368 | 142 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: رُفَائِيل
- Armenian: Ռաֆայել
- Bulgarian: Рафаил
- Catalan: Rafael, Rafel
- Chinese: 拉菲爾 /拉菲尔, 拉斐尔, 拉法艾尔
- Esperanto: Rafaelo
- Finnish: Rafael
- French: Raphaël
- German: Raphael
- Irish: Rafael
- Italian: Raffaele, Raffaello
- Japanese: ラファエル
- Latin: Raphael
- Lithuanian: Rapolas
- Polish: Rafał
- Portuguese: Rafael
- Russian: Рафаи́л
- Spanish: Rafael
- Swedish: Rafael

## People named Raphael

- Raphaël Varane, French footballer (born 1993)
- Raphaël Guerreiro, French-Portuguese footballer
- Anton Raphael Mengs, German-Bohemian painter active in Dresden, Rome and Madrid (1728-1779)
- Raphael Warnock, American pastor and politician (born 1969)
- Raphaël Poirée, French biathlete
- Raphael Botti, Brazilian association football player
- Raphaël Glucksmann, French film director, journalist and politician
- Raphael Veiga, Brazilian association football player
- Raphael Sbarge, American actor and filmmaker
- Raphael Claus, Brazilian referee
- Raphael Holinshed, English chronicler
- Raphael Schäfer, German footballer

## 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.