Rachel
2025 SSA
About Rachel
Rachel was derived from the Hebrew word rāchēl, meaning "ewe." In the Old Testament, Rachel was the favorite wife of Jacob, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. International variations include the Spanish Raquel and Israeli Rahel.
Delicacy, softness, and Old Testament importance made Rachel a top biblical choice from the seventies on. At a much earlier time Rachel was considered characteristically Jewish—it wasn't used as a Christian name until after the Reformation—but the fact that it has reached as high as the Top 10 in this country demonstrates that it has been fully embraced by parents of all backgrounds. While off its peak, Rachel is still one of the most popular girls' names starting with R as well as one of the most classic names for girls.
Rachel was a US First Lady name, via the wife of Andrew Jackson, and current prominent bearers include Rachels Weisz, Dratch, McAdams, Griffiths, Maddow, Roy, and Zoe. A major influence on the name was Jennifer Aniston's iconic character on Friends; other fictional Rachels were found in the Anne of Green Gables and Percy Jackson series, and on Glee.
Pronounced RAY-chul.
As of October 2026, Rachel ranked #250 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #9 in 1996, Nameberry popularity #306.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #155 | 2,090 | 1,170 |
| 2015 | #167 | 1,938 | 1,085.7 |
| 2016 | #171 | 1,883 | 1,062.6 |
| 2017 | #191 | 1,622 | 939.5 |
| 2018 | #198 | 1,558 | 915.9 |
| 2019 | #191 | 1,547 | 921.7 |
| 2020 | #226 | 1,305 | 807.3 |
| 2021 | #239 | 1,271 | 774.6 |
| 2022 | #241 | 1,261 | 768.8 |
| 2023 | #254 | 1,223 | 762.2 |
| 2024 | #247 | 1,285 | 793.1 |
| 2025 | #250 | 1,225 | 762.2 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Rachel.
- Rebecca
- Sarah
- Samantha
- Amy
- Laura
- Maria
- Nicole
- Michelle
- Stephanie
- Christina
- Amanda
- Marie
- Katherine
- Angela
- Jessica
- Gabrielle
- Christine
- Danielle
- Jennifer
- Lauren
Rachel on lists
Famous Rachels
- Rachel
Biblical second wife of Jacob
- Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson
wife of U.S. President Andrew Jackson
- Rachel Leah Bloom
American actress and comedienne
- Rachel Sarah Bilson
American actress
- Rachel Hannah Weisz
English actress
- Rachel Susan Dratch
American comedian and actress
- Rachel Held Evans
American author, blogger, and columnist
- Rachel Louise Carson
American environmentalist and scientist
- Rachel Marie Parsons
American ice dancer
- Rachel Lauren Stevens
English pop singer of group S Club
- Rachel Kelly Crow
American pop singer
- Rachel Anne McAdams
Canadian actress
- Rachel Anne Griffiths
Australian actress
- Rachel Anne Maddow
American TV journalist
- Rachel Emily Nichols
American actress
- Rachel Michele Nichols
American TV journalist
- (Rachel) Meghan Markle
Duchess of Sussex, former American actress
- Rachel Ticotin
American actress
- Rachel Anna Korine
American actress
- Rachel Khoo
English celebrity chef
- Rachel McQuillan
Australian tennis player
- Rachel Vincent
American novelist
- Rachel India True
American actress
- Rachel York
American actress and singer
- Rachel Amanda Harris
Australian Olympic swimmer
- Rachel Kushner
American novelist
- Rachel Hunter
New Zealand model
- Rachel Clare Hurd
Wood, English actress
- Rachel Renee Smith
Miss USA 2007
- Rachel Williams
American model
- Rachel Claire Ward
English actress
- Rachel Lindsey Potter
American actress/singer
- Rachel Platten
American singer,songwriter
- Rachel Isadora
American children's author
- Rachel Irene Roy
American fashion designer
- Rachel Uchitel
mistress of golfer Tiger Woods
- Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman
English composer
- Rachel Gibson
American novelist
- Rachel Feinstein
American actress/comedian
- Rachel Reynolds
American TV model
- Rachel Hunt
Australian author
- Rachel Elizabeth Boston
American actress
- Rachel Zoe (Rosenzweig)
American fashion stylist and designer
- Rachel Ashwell
English author
- Rachel Skarsten
Canadian actress
- Rachel Shelley
English actress
- Rachel Riley
English television presenter
- Rachel Sutherland
sister of Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland
- Evan Rachel Wood
American actress
- Rachel Louise Corsie
Scottish football player
- Rachel Ann Daly
English soccer player
- Rachel House
New Zealand actress and acting coach
- Rachel "Bunny" Meyer
American YouTuber of grav3yardgirl
- Rachel Yoshizuki
American YouTuber of "Rachel and Jun"
- Rachel Roberts (b. 1978) Canadian Model & Actress
played the part of Simone in the 2002 film "Simone"
- Rachel Anne Zegler
American actress
- Rachel Lundell
Contestant on season 2 of Love Island USA
Rachel in pop culture
- Rachel Bailey
a police officer and titular character in the British drama "Scott & Bailey", played by Suranne Jones
- Rachel Karen Green
character on TV's "Friends"
- Rachel Menken
character in "Mad Men" TV series
- Rachel Watson
main character in book/film "The Girl on the Train"
- Rachel Zane
character on TV's "Suits"
- Rachel Berry
main character TV's "Glee"
- Rachel Dawes
character in the Batman series
- Rachel Phantomhive
character in anime/manga "Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler"
- Rachel Kinski
character on Australian soap "Neighbours"
- Rachel Virginia Gatina
character on TV's "One Tree Hill"
- Rachel Lynde
character in the Anne of Green Gables series
- Rachel Elizabeth Dare
character in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus series
- Rachel Witchburn
character in "Sydney White"
- Rachel Anne Summers aka Marvel Girl
Marvel Comics character
- Rachel
character in "Rainbow Magic" children's book series
- Rachel Adams
character in "Defiance", from C. J. Redwine
- Lady Rachel Rougedragon
"a meagre old Scotch lady" in Sir Walter Scott's 1824 novel "Redgauntlet"
- Rachel Tice
character in the YouTube series "Most Popular Girls in School"
- Rachel Pirzad
character on TV's "Alphas"
- Rachel Sangalletti Ashley
main character in "My Cousin Rachel" by Daphne du Maurier and 1952 movie
- Rachel Noyes
main character "The Rachel Papers" by Martin Amis and 1989 movie
- Rachel Cameron
main character in 1968 movie "Rachel, Rachel"
- Rachel Joy Cuddy
a character on "House, M.D."
- Rachel Roth
alias to DC Comic superhero Raven from the "Teen Titans"
- Rachel Keller
character from horror movie "The Ring"
- Rachel Duncan
character on TV's "Orphan Black"
- Rachel Denman
character in the "St Clare" book series by Enid Blyton
- Rachel T. McKenzie aka Numbuh 362
a character on animated series "Codename: Kids Next Door"
- Rachel Diaz
character on TV's "Stuck in the Middle"
- Rachel Murray
a character on MTV's "Scream"
- Rachel
a main character from the film "Imagine Me and You"
- Rachel Pidgley
a character from webcomic "The Glass Scientists"
- Rachel Davis
character on TV's "Famous in Love"
- Rachel Alvi
character in "Sims" series
- "Rachel Getting Married
" 2008 movie
- Rachel Goldberg
character on TV's UnREAL
- Rachel
a Reuben sandwich with turkey
- Rachel Ferrier
character in 2005 film "War of the Worlds"
- Rachel Garrett
character in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" Rachel Garrett was the Captain of the Enterprise,C
- Rachel Price
titular character in novel "The Reappearance of Rachel Price"
- "The Reappearance of Rachel Price"
novel by Holly Jackson
- Rachel Amber
character in video game "Life is Strange"