boys' name ★ peaked 2025

Raphael

Meaning God cures/has healed Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #394 Trend ↑ Rising 42%

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

Rank 2025
#394
among boys · ↑26 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
807
named Raphael · +7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,117
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2025
807 babies
All-time total
24,581
#753 all-time among boys
First recorded
1882
in Social Security records

Raphael popularity over time

24,581 babies have been named Raphael since 1882, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.130.250.380.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 28 28 3 – #618
1890s – 96 96 10 +243% #591
1900s 6 136 142 14 +48% #520
1910s 57 767 824 82 +480% #504
1920s 58 1,001 1,059 106 +29% #554
1930s 25 688 713 71 -33% #625
1940s 19 655 674 67 -5% #723
1950s 6 893 899 90 +33% #690
1960s 32 1,107 1,139 114 +27% #643
1970s 45 1,762 1,807 181 +59% #573
1980s 59 2,286 2,345 235 +30% #525
1990s 6 2,952 2,958 296 +26% #465
2000s 5 3,173 3,178 318 +7% #619
2010s – 4,722 4,722 472 +49% #516
2020s (to 2025) 5 3,992 3,997 666 +41% #394

Where Raphael is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 857 0.50 #372
2027 901 0.53 #363
2028 941 0.55 #351
2029 976 0.57 #341
2030 1,007 0.59 #336

Where Raphael is most popular

Boys named Raphael per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.397 per 1,000. Strongest in District of Columbia, New York, and Massachusetts.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Raphael born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
District of Columbia 29 1.96 +394%
New York 348 0.804 +102%
Massachusetts 106 0.771 +94%
New Jersey 155 0.770 +94%
Nevada 43 0.754 +90%
Maryland 80 0.671 +69%
Washington 103 0.630 +58%
Florida 259 0.547 +38%
Virginia 101 0.532 +34%
Oregon 39 0.514 +29%
California 465 0.509 +28%
Colorado 63 0.488 +23%
Illinois 121 0.473 +19%
Arizona 75 0.458 +15%
Texas 401 0.455 +15%
Kansas 30 0.437 +10%
Minnesota 53 0.432 +9%
Alaska 5 0.420 +6%
Connecticut 27 0.399 ≈ national
Hawaii 6 0.386 ≈ national
Michigan 79 0.386 ≈ national
Georgia 91 0.359 -10%
North Carolina 87 0.341 -14%
Pennsylvania 90 0.339 -15%
New Mexico 11 0.334 -16%
Missouri 44 0.317 -20%
Utah 30 0.314 -21%
Rhode Island 5 0.307 -23%
Indiana 48 0.299 -25%
Ohio 79 0.298 -25%
Oklahoma 26 0.294 -26%
South Carolina 27 0.261 -34%
Nebraska 11 0.253 -36%
Iowa 16 0.232 -42%
Tennessee 37 0.205 -48%
Wisconsin 24 0.203 -49%
Kentucky 20 0.199 -50%
Louisiana 20 0.196 -51%
Arkansas 12 0.190 -52%
Alabama 7 0.064 -84%
Delaware – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Raphael

Raphael is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #394 in 2025 with 807 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1882, 24,581 American babies have been named Raphael. Its peak came in 2025, when 807 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Raphael stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Raphael?

The median living Raphael is about 20 years old; half are between 8 and 38. An estimated 21 thousand people named Raphael are alive in the United States today.

median 20 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Raphael year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 807 #394
2024 5 #17,141 751 #420
2023 – – 686 #453
2022 – – 641 #483
2021 – – 548 #538
2020 – – 559 #513
2019 – – 545 #523
2018 – – 536 #529
2017 – – 561 #516
2016 – – 551 #533
2015 – – 533 #537
2014 – – 461 #596
2013 – – 423 #600
2012 – – 387 #629
2011 – – 356 #668
2010 – – 369 #653
2009 5 #19,550 400 #625
2008 – – 397 #622
2007 – – 333 #702
2006 – – 331 #682
2005 – – 316 #668
2004 – – 304 #671
2003 – – 253 #725
2002 – – 269 #682
2001 – – 266 #682
2000 – – 304 #619
1995 – – 251 #659
1990 – – 450 #465
1985 5 #11,984 256 #549
1980 – – 158 #692
1975 7 #7,747 181 #604
1970 10 #5,313 168 #626
1965 – – 96 #753
1960 – – 93 #796
1955 – – 93 #759
1950 – – 65 #848
1945 – – 61 #794
1940 6 #4,247 72 #723
1935 – – 53 #869
1930 6 #4,451 97 #625
1925 – – 99 #640
1920 6 #4,861 103 #626
1915 8 #3,372 100 #569
1910 – – 19 #700
1905 – – 13 #693
1900 – – 8 #1,031
1895 – – 9 #785
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Raphael

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Raphael Raphael Italian painter and architect (1483–1520) Medieval
  2. 2 Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq American contemporary R&B singer (born 1966) Contemporary
  3. 3 Raphael Sbarge Raphael Sbarge American actor (born 1964) b. 1965 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Raphael Lemkin Raphael Lemkin Polish Jewish lawyer (1900–1959) Contemporary
  5. 5 Raphael Raphael Spanish singer and actor (born 1943) Contemporary
  6. 6 Raphael Holinshed Raphael Holinshed 16th-century English chronicler 1529–1580 · 16th century
  7. 7 Raphael Gualazzi Raphael Gualazzi Musical artist b. 1981 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Raphael Diaz Hockey player, Switzerland b. 1986 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Raphael Tracey Raphael Tracey American soccer playe (1904–1975) Contemporary
  10. 10 Raphael Schäfer Raphael Schäfer German footballer b. 1979 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Raphael Holzdeppe Raphael Holzdeppe German pole vaulter b. 1989 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Raphael Wolf Raphael Wolf German footballer b. 1988 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Raphael Botti Raphael Botti Brazilian footballer (born 1981) Contemporary
  14. 14 Raphael Macena Soccer player, Brazil b. 1989 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Raphael, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Raphael?

The median living Raphael is about 20 years old. Half of all living Raphaels are between 8 and 38 years old.

How many people named Raphael are alive today?

An estimated 21 thousand people named Raphael are alive in the United States, based on 24,581 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Raphael mean?

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

How popular is the name Raphael in 2025?

Raphael ranked #394 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 807 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Raphael?

24,581 babies have been named Raphael in the United States since 1882, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Raphael most popular?

Raphael peaked in 2025, when 807 newborns received the name.

Is Raphael a boy or girl name?

Raphael is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Raphael rising or falling?

Raphael is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Raphael become more popular?

Raphael is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,007 boys named Raphael in 2030, which would rank around #336. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Raphael?

Well-known people named Raphael include Raphael (painter), Raphael Saadiq (singer), Raphael Sbarge (actor).

Names like Raphael

Names that sound and feel close to Raphael: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Raphael with similar names → More names starting with R →