Raphael
Top 1000
About Raphael
Raphael is a romantic archangel name that sounds both artistic and powerful. Raphael is also a great cross-cultural choice, with significance for people with both Latinate and Jewish roots, plus plenty of grounding in the English-speaking world.
Raphael was one of the seven archangels (called by Milton "the affable archangel") who attended the throne of God and, as the angel of healing, is the patron of doctors as well as of travelers, science and healing. Another worthy namesake is the great Renaissance painter Raphael (born Raffaello Sanzio). Several celebs have chosen the name, including Robert De Niro, Ana Ortiz and Melissa George.
Rafael is the Spanish spelling, as represented by Spanish tennis champ Rafael Nadal. Rafi is the familiar Hebrew nickname.
As of October 2026, Raphael ranked #394 in US births in 2025 SSA, Nameberry popularity #329.
Editor's take: The name Raphael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God has healed".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #596 | 461 | 240 |
| 2015 | #537 | 533 | 278.1 |
| 2016 | #533 | 550 | 289.8 |
| 2017 | #517 | 560 | 302.5 |
| 2018 | #529 | 535 | 294.6 |
| 2019 | #523 | 544 | 303.2 |
| 2020 | #512 | 559 | 323.9 |
| 2021 | #538 | 548 | 313.2 |
| 2022 | #483 | 641 | 367.1 |
| 2023 | #453 | 685 | 400.4 |
| 2024 | #420 | 744 | 431.8 |
| 2025 | #394 | 807 | 472.5 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Raphael.
- Julius
- Augustus
- Cedric
- Maximilian
- Vincent
- Ezekiel
- Victor
- Leon
- Thaddeus
- Matthias
- Fabian
- Maximus
- Dimitri
- Tobias
- Alastair
- Dorian
- Rafael
- Darius
- Dante
- Magnus
Raphael on lists
Famous Raphaels
- Raphael
Biblical archangel
- Raphael Sanzio
Italian Renaissance painter
- Raphael Soyer
Russian,American painter
- Raphael Saadiq (b. Charles Ray Wiggins)
American R&B singer
- Raphael Holinshed
English chronicler consulted by William Shakespeare
- Raphael Matos
Brazilian racing car driver
- Raphael "Roy" Welensky
2nd and last Prime Minister of Rhodesia
- Raphael (born Miguel Rafael Martos Sánchez)
Spanish singer and actor
- Raphael Semmes
U.S. Confederate Navy general
- Raphael Sbarge
American actor
- Raphael Gualazzi
Italian singer and pianist
- Raphael Alejandro
American child actor
- Raphael De Niro (b. 1976)
son of American actor Robert De Niro
- Raphael "Raffi" Williams (b. 1992)
son of TV journalist Juan Williams
- Raphaël Halle (b. 1993)
son of actress Juliette Binoche and André Halle
- Raphael Eigenmann Rogoff (b. 1998)
son of actress Cherie Gil and Rony Rogoff
- Raphael Lough (b. 2010)
son of runners Paula Radcliffe and Gary Lough
- Raphael Lebenzon (b. 2011)
son of actress Ana Ortiz and Noah Lebenzon
- Raphaël Elmaleh (b. 2013)
son of Princess Charlotte Casiraghi of Monaco and Gad Elmaleh
- Raphael Blanc (b. 2014)
son of actress Melissa George and Jean David Blanc
Raphael in pop culture
- Raphael Santiago
character in Cassandra Clare's "The Mortal Instruments"
- Raphael
one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Raphael Hythloday
character in Utopia (1516) by Thomas More
- Raphael
chemist in The Mystery of a Hansom Crab (1886) by Fergus Hume
- Raphael Leon
journalist in Children of the Ghetto (1892) by Israel Zangwill
- Raphael "Raffy
" character in Gemma Malley's "The Killables" series
- Raphael
an angel on the TV show "Supernatural''
- Raphael
a vampire in the French online visual novel Moonlight Lovers
- Raphael Kirsten
character in Fire Emblem Three Houses video game
Variations & nicknames
- RafaeleItalian
- RafalPolish