How Many People Are Named Rachael?
An estimated 74,842 people in the United States have the first name Rachael. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 38 years old, and Rachael peaked in popularity in 1990 with 3,035 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Rachael as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Rachael paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Rachael is overwhelmingly female, 181 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Rachael has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
74,842
About 1 in 4,580 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.8% confidence
Average Age
38
years old
Peak Year
1990
3,035 births
Total Registered
82,621
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Rachael
Rachael is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 82,621 total births registered, 99.8% were female.
Rachael as a male name
Ranked #11,005 in 2004
6 male births in 2004
Peak: 1987 (17 births)
Rachael as a female name
Ranked #3,935 in 2024
38 female births in 2024
Peak: 1990 (3,028 births)
Rachael: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Rachael span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1980s, when 25,788 babies were registered. Rachael has declined significantly from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Rachael by Decade
How has Rachael tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 113 | 0 | 113 | |
| 1890s | 185 | 0 | 185 | |
| 1900s | 254 | 0 | 254 | |
| 1910s | 932 | 0 | 932 | |
| 1920s | 962 | 0 | 962 | |
| 1930s | 522 | 0 | 522 | |
| 1940s | 726 | 0 | 726 | |
| 1950s | 1,249 | 0 | 1,249 | |
| 1960s | 3,055 | 6 | 3,049 | |
| 1970s | 12,762 | 39 | 12,723 | |
| 1980s | 25,788 | 118 | 25,670 | |
| 1990s | 24,526 | 12 | 24,514 | |
| 2000s | 9,150 | 6 | 9,144 | |
| 2010s | 2,138 | 0 | 2,138 | |
| 2020s | 259 | 0 | 259 | |
Rachael by State
Birth registrations for Rachael span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Pennsylvania, New York. The lowest are in Wyoming, District of Columbia, Vermont. On average, about 1,517 Rachaels were registered per state.
Rachael + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Rachael as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Rachael
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
Rachael: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rachael?
We estimate approximately 74,842 people named Rachael are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 4,580 Americans share this first name.
Is Rachael a common name?
Rachael is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 82,621 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Rachael most popular?
Rachael reached peak popularity in 1990, when 3,035 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Rachael is approximately 38 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Rachael a female name?
Rachael is predominantly female. 99.8% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Rachael Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Rachael Smith, Rachael Johnson, Rachael Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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