Girls' name · peaked in 1987
Rachael name popularity since 1925
80,589 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Rachael. Half of them were born in 1988 or earlier, so the typical Rachael is about 38 years old in 2026. Rachael peaked in 1987 as the #98 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 80,589
- Named Rachael, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #5,066 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.8% girls
- 80,408 girls · 181 boys
- Most popular in
- Oregon
- 1.66× its national share
Peak year is the year Rachael made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Rachael births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1990. Measured as a share of all babies, Rachael peaked in 1987.
- Fastest rise: Between 1965 and 1970, Rachael became 4.1× more common, from 1 in 8,130 baby girls to 1 in 1,970.
- Steepest fall: Between 2007 and 2012, its share of baby girls fell by 61%, from 1 in 2,310 to 1 in 5,950.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Rachael's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Rachael.
Decade by decade
Babies named Rachael in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 385 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 522 | 0 | #981 |
| 1940s | 726 | 0 | #1,057 |
| 1950s | 1,249 | 0 | #920 |
| 1960s | 3,048 | 6 | #668 |
| 1970s | 12,724 | 39 | #185 |
| 1980s | 25,670 | 118 | #100 |
| 1990s | 24,515 | 12 | #120 |
| 2000s | 9,144 | 6 | #392 |
| 2010s | 2,139 | 0 | #1,300 |
| 2020–25 | 286 | 0 | #5,066 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
53.1% of babies named Rachael from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Rachael is most popular
The index compares Rachael's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Rachael.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 1.66× | 1,210 |
| Utah | 1.64× | 1,086 |
| Idaho | 1.53× | 472 |
| Washington | 1.53× | 1,980 |
| Colorado | 1.43× | 1,371 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Rachael and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Rachael (this page) | 80,408 | 1987 |
| Rachel | 546,403 | 1985 |
| Racheal | 10,295 | 1985 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Rachael's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Rachael.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Rachael (1987).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data