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

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

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

Popular girl names: Biblical vs. Non-Biblical

The ratio of Biblical names to non-Biblical names in the girl’s top 20 is about the same today as it was 100 years ago, though the ratio did change a bit mid-century.

(In contrast, there’s been a steady increase in the number of Biblical-origin names among the top boy names.)

Here’s the color-coded table — Biblical names are in the yellow cells, non-Biblical names are in the green cells, and several borderline names (which I counted as non-Biblical) are in the orange cells:

Popular girl names: Biblical vs. non-Biblical.
Popular girl names over time: Biblical (yellow) vs. non-Biblical. Click to enlarge.
  • Biblical names: Abigail, Anna, Betty (via Elizabeth), Chloe, Danielle, Deborah, Debra, Elizabeth, Hannah, Isabella (via Elizabeth), Janet, Jean, Joan, Judith, Judy, Julie, Lillian (via Elizabeth), Lisa (via Elizabeth), Lois, Marie, Marilyn, Mary, Mia (via Maria), Michelle, Nancy (via Anne), Rachel, Rebecca, Ruth, Sandra (via Alexander), Sarah, Sharon, Stephanie, Susan, Tammy (via Tamar/Tamara)
  • Non-Biblical names: Alexis, Alice, Alyssa, Amanda, Amber, Amelia, Amy, Angela, Ashley, Aubrey, Avery, Barbara, Brenda, Brianna, Brittany, Carol, Carolyn, Catherine, Charlotte, Christina, Christine, Crystal, Cynthia, Diane, Donna, Doris, Dorothy, Edna, Ella, Emily, Emma, Evelyn, Florence, Frances, Gladys, Grace, Harper, Heather, Helen, Irene, Jennifer, Joyce, Karen, Kathleen, Kayla, Kelly, Kimberly, Laura, Lauren, Linda, Lori, Louise, Madison, Margaret, Marjorie, Megan, Melissa, Mildred, Natalie, Nicole, Olivia, Pamela, Patricia, Rose, Shannon, Shirley, Sofia, Sophia, Taylor, Tiffany, Victoria, Virginia
  • Borderline names:
    • Ava (could be based on the Germanic root avi or the Biblical name Eve)
    • Jessica (literary invention, but Shakespeare may have based it on the Biblical name Iscah)
    • Samantha (possibly inspired by the Biblical name Samuel)

Again, feels pretty weird to put overtly Christian names like Christina and Christine in the non-Biblical category, but oh well.

Here are the year-by-year tallies:

YearTop 20 names
given to…		# Biblical# Non-Biblical
191431% of baby girls6 (30%)14 (70%)
192431% of baby girls7 (35%)13 (65%)
193432% of baby girls9 (45%)11 (55%)
194435% of baby girls8 (40%)12 (60%)
195434% of baby girls9 (45%)11 (55%)
196424% of baby girls9 (45%)11 (55%)
197424% of baby girls8 (40%)12 (60%)
198426% of baby girls6 (30%)14 (70%)
199419% of baby girls6 (30%)14 (70%)
200414% of baby girls6 (30%)14 (70%)
201412% of baby girls5 (25%)15 (75%)

Just like with the boy names, though, there’s a big difference between the 1914 and 2014 sample sizes — 31% and 12%. So let’s also look at the 2014 top 100, which covers 31% of female births.

By my count, last year’s top 100 girl names were about a quarter Biblical, three-quarters non-Biblical:

Biblical names (27)Non-Biblical/Borderline names (73)
Isabella (via Elizabeth), Mia (via Maria), Abigail, Elizabeth, Chloe, Addison (via Adam), Lillian (via Elizabeth), Hannah, Anna, Leah, Gabriella, Sadie (via Sarah), Sarah, Annabelle, Madelyn (via Magdalene), Lucy (via Lucius), Alexa (via Alexander), Genesis, Naomi, Eva, Lydia, Julia, Khloe, Madeline (via Magdalene), Alexandra, Gianna (via Joanna), Isabelle (via Elizabeth)Emma, Olivia, Sophia, Ava, Emily, Madison, Charlotte, Harper, Sofia, Avery, Amelia, Evelyn, Ella, Victoria, Aubrey, Grace, Zoey, Natalie, Brooklyn, Lily, Layla, Scarlett, Aria, Zoe, Samantha, Audrey, Ariana, Allison, Savannah, Arianna, Camila, Penelope, Claire, Aaliyah, Riley, Skylar, Nora, Hailey, Kaylee, Paisley, Kennedy, Ellie, Peyton, Caroline, Serenity, Aubree, Alexis, Nevaeh, Stella, Violet, Mackenzie, Bella, Autumn, Mila, Kylie, Maya, Piper, Alyssa, Taylor, Eleanor, Melanie, Faith, Katherine, Brianna, Ashley, Ruby, Sophie, London, Lauren, Alice, Vivian, Hadley, Jasmine

Faith, Grace, Angela, Nevaeh, Natalie…all technically non-Biblical.

27%-73% is remarkably similar to both 25%-75% (smaller 2014 sample) and 30%-70% (1914 sample).

So here’s the question of the day: If you had to choose all of your children’s names from either one group or the other — Biblical names or non-Biblical names — which group would you stick to, and why?