How popular is the baby name Rachel in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Rachel.

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Popularity of the baby name Rachel


Posts that mention the name Rachel

Popular baby names in New York City, 2016

Flag of New York
Flag of New York

According to New York City’s Health Department, the most popular baby names in the city last year were Olivia and Liam.

Here are New York City’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2016:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 564 baby girls
  2. Sophia, 557
  3. Emma, 525
  4. Isabella, 469
  5. Mia, 468
  6. Ava, 450
  7. Emily, 388
  8. Leah, 348
  9. Sarah, 338
  10. Madison, 325
  11. Charlotte, 320 (tie)
  12. Sofia, 320 (tie)
  13. Chloe, 314
  14. Abigail, 285
  15. Rachel, 269
  16. Victoria, 256
  17. Amelia, 254
  18. Esther, 248
  19. Zoe, 244
  20. Maya, 239
  21. Elizabeth, 220
  22. Grace, 213
  23. Camila, 197 (tie)
  24. Ella, 197 (tie)
  25. Sara, 196
  26. Riley, 189
  27. Chaya, 183
  28. Valentina, 182
  29. Ariana, 177
  30. Hannah, 169
  31. Chana, 166 (tie)
  32. Miriam, 166 (tie)
  33. Hailey, 164
  34. Gabriella, 158
  35. Ashley, 157 (tie)
  36. Penelope, 157 (tie)
  37. Scarlett, 156
  38. Layla, 152
  39. Alexandra, 149
  40. Evelyn, 145
  41. Samantha, 142
  42. Mila, 141
  43. Aria, 139
  44. Avery, 138 (tie)
  45. Zoey, 138 (tie)
  46. Alice, 137 (tie)
  47. Arianna, 137 (tie)
  48. Eva, 135 (tie)
  49. Kayla, 135 (tie)
  50. Alexa, 134

Boy names

  1. Liam, 710 baby boys
  2. Jacob, 696
  3. Ethan, 690
  4. Noah, 631
  5. Aiden, 536
  6. Matthew, 535
  7. Daniel, 522
  8. Lucas, 503
  9. Michael, 502
  10. Dylan, 495
  11. David, 479
  12. Alexander, 476
  13. Jayden, 464
  14. Ryan, 437
  15. Joseph, 421
  16. Sebastian, 396
  17. Mason, 395
  18. James, 383
  19. Benjamin, 379
  20. Joshua, 328
  21. Samuel, 326
  22. William, 304
  23. Christopher, 303
  24. Isaac, 301
  25. Aaron, 296
  26. Henry, 295
  27. Anthony, 292 (tie)
  28. Gabriel, 292 (tie)
  29. Adam, 280
  30. Logan, 276 (tie)
  31. Nicholas, 276 (tie)
  32. Oliver, 270
  33. Elijah, 264
  34. John, 263
  35. Nathan, 249
  36. Andrew, 247
  37. Moshe, 242
  38. Jonathan, 241
  39. Julian, 238
  40. Jack, 227
  41. Abraham, 224
  42. Adrian, 222 (tie)
  43. Justin, 222 (tie)
  44. Leo, 220
  45. Christian, 206 (tie)
  46. Josiah, 206 (tie)
  47. Jeremiah, 202
  48. Angel, 200
  49. Muhammad, 193
  50. Eli, 188 (4-way tie)
  51. Ian, 188 (4-way tie)
  52. Jason, 188 (4-way tie)
  53. Kevin, 188 (4-way tie)

The top baby names within specific ethnic/racial groups were…

Top girl namesTop boy names
Hispanic1. Isabella, 276
2. Sophia, 261
3. Mia, 228
4. Emma, 197
5. Camila, 180		1. Liam, 387
2. Jacob, 351
3. Dylan, 312
4. Matthew, 297
5. Noah, 269
Asian and Pacific Islander1. Olivia, 172
2. Chloe, 112
3. Sophia, 104
4. Emily, 99 (tie)
5. Emma, 99 (tie)		1. Ethan, 193
2. Ryan, 160
3. Muhammad, 157
4. Lucas, 148
5. Jayden, 138
Non-Hispanic White1. Olivia, 230
2. Rachel, 221
3. Esther, 209
4. Sarah, 202
5. Emma, 201		1. Joseph, 261
2. Michael, 260
3. David, 255
4. Moshe, 239
5. Jacob, 236
Non-Hispanic Black1. Ava, 109
2. Madison, 104
3. Skylar, 68
4. Riley, 65
5. Aaliyah, 57		1. Noah, 148
2. Aiden, 137
3. Elijah, 116
4. Liam, 108
5. Ethan, 107

Among the names given to just 10 babies each in NYC last year were the girl names Amberly, Florence, Jannatul, Paloma, and Thalia, and the boy names Henri, Ibraheem, Mordche, Oumar, and Terry.

One year earlier, in 2015, NYC’s top names (overall) were Olivia and Ethan.

Sources (all originally from NYC.gov):

Image: Adapted from Flag of New York (public domain)

[Latest update: Nov. 2025]

Top Jewish baby names in Israel, decade by decade

Flag of Israel
Flag of Israel

Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority recently released decade-by-decade lists of the most popular Jewish baby names in Israel since the establishment of the state (in mid-1948).

DecadeTop 3 Girl NamesTop 3 Boy Names
1950sEsther, Rachel, SarahMoshe, Yosef, Avraham
1960sRachel, Esther, RonitYosef, Moshe, Avraham
1970sMichal, Keren, MeravMoshe, David, Yosef
1980sMichal, Adi, MoranMoshe, David, Roei
1990sEden, Sapir, AdiDaniel, David, Moshe
2000sNoa, Shira, YaelDaniel, Itay, Uri
2010s so farShira, Noa, TamarItay, Uri, Noam

In 5775, the top names for Jewish babies in Israel were Tamar and Ori (aka Uri).

Source: Abebe, Adeno. “Israel’s most popular names by decade.” Ynetnews 25 Feb. 2016.

Image: Adapted from Flag of Israel (public domain)

Baby name story: Union Banner

Union Banner Hunt (1864-1915)
Union B. Hunt

Union B. Hunt served as Indiana’s 29th secretary of state from 1899 to 1903.

He was born in Nettle Creek, Indiana, to parents Rachel and Joshua Hunt on September 2, 1864. His full name at birth was Union Banner Basil Morton Hunt.

For this name, Mr. Hunt says, he is not responsible. Neither is he ashamed of it. At the time of his birth his brother was confined in the Confederate Prison in Andersonville, Ga., having been captured at the Battle of Chickamauga. Hence, the name “Union Banner.” Basil (pronounced Bazil) is an old family name, and “Morton” is for the great war governor of Indiana.

The “great war governor,” Oliver P. Morton, served as Indiana’s 14th governor from 1861 to 1867. (Incidentally, his birth name, Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton, honored naval commander Oliver Hazard Perry.)

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the National Magazine (Vol. XXXIX)

Popular baby names in New York City, 2014

Flag of New York
Flag of New York

According to data from the New York City Department of Health, the most popular baby names in the city last year were Sophia and Ethan.

Here are New York City’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2014:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Olivia
4. Mia
5. Emma
6. Emily
7. Leah
8. Ava
9. Sofia
10. Chloe		1. Ethan
2. Jacob
3. Liam
4. Jayden
5. Noah
6. Daniel
7. Michael
8. Alexander
9. David
10. Matthew

On the girls’ list, Ava replaced Madison.

The boys’ list contains the same 10 names. Notably, Liam jumped from 10th in 2013 to 3rd in 2014.

Despite the Venmo “Lucas” ads, the name Lucas did not appear in the overall top 10 in NYC in 2014.

Here are the top names broken down by ethnic/racial group:

Hispanic

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Isabella
2. Sophia
3. Mia
4. Sofia
5. Camila		1. Liam
2. Dylan/Jacob
3. Noah
4. Jayden
5. Ethan

Black

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Madison
2. Ava
3. Chloe
4. Aaliyah
5. Skylar		1. Ethan
2. Noah
3. Aiden/Jayden
4. Elijah
5. Jeremiah

White

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Olivia
2. Esther
3. Rachel
4. Leah
5. Emma		1. Joseph
2. David
3. Michael
4. Moshe
5. Jacob

Asian & Pacific Islander

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Olivia
2. Chloe/Sophia
3. Emma
4. Emily
5. Angela		1. Jayden
2. Ethan
3. Ryan
4. Lucas
5. Aiden

(Lucas was also 4th on the Asian & Pacific Islander list in 2013.)

Source: Health Department Announces Sophia and Ethan are 2014’s Most Popular Baby Names – NYC.gov

Image: Adapted from Flag of New York (public domain)