How popular is the baby name Yael 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 Yael.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Yael


Posts that mention the name Yael

What influenced the baby name Ovadia in Israel?

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (1920-2013)
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef

According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, the name Ovadia has become trendy in the Middle Eastern country.

Only 36 baby boys in Israel were named Ovadia in 2012. “However, following the death of spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in 2013, 117 babies were given this name and in 2014, 209 newborns were named after the rabbi.”

Influential cleric Ovadia Yosef, who founded the ultra-Orthodox Shas party in the mid-1980s, died in October of 2013 at the age of 93.

The baby name Ovadia — the Hebrew form of Obadiah — also saw a modest increase in usage in the United States during the same time frame:

  • 2015: 9 baby boys named Ovadia
  • 2014: 15 baby boys named Ovadia (6 born in NY)
  • 2013: 11 baby boys named Ovadia (9 born in NY)
  • 2012: unlisted
  • 2011: 5 baby boys named Ovadia (all born in NY)

Despite its trendiness, Ovadia wasn’t popular enough to rank among the top Jewish boy names in Israel in 2014:

Top boy names among JewsTop boy names among Muslims
Noam
Ori/Uri
David
Yosef
Eitan
Itay
Ariel
Daniel
Yonatan
Moshe		Muhammad
Yousef
Omar
Abed
Adam
Ali
Ibrahim
Mahmoud
Amir
Haled

And here are Israel’s top girl names:

Top girl names among JewsTop girl names among Muslims
Noa
Tamar
Shira
Maya
Yael
Adele
Talia
Avigail
Ayala
Sara		Miryam
Jana
Lian
Malak
Aline
Lyn
Nur

Of the 176,427 babies born in Israel in 2014, 136,000 (77.1%) were born into Jewish families and 40,427 (22.9%) were born into Arabic families.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Nomination of the New Chief Rabbis by Dan Hadani collection/National Library of Israel/The Pritzker Family National Photography Collection under CC BY 4.0.

[Latest update: Nov. 2024]

Biggest changes in boy name popularity, 2015

Which boy names increased and decreased the most in popularity from 2014 to 2015?

Here are two ways to look at it. The SSA’s way looks at ranking differences and covers the top 1,000 boy names (roughly). My way looks at raw number differences and takes all boy names on the SSA’s list into account.

Biggest Increases

Raw number increases (all boy names)Ranking increases (top 1,000 boy names)
1. Oliver, +2,181 babies (9,411 to 11,592)
2. Matteo, +1,320 babies (835 to 2,155)
3. Grayson, +1,296 babies (6,556 to 7,852)
4. Mateo, +1,258 babies (3,729 to 4,987)
5. Lincoln, +1,150 babies (4,809 to 5,959)
6. Theodore, +895 babies (3,216 to 4,111)
7. Ezra, +893 babies (3,406 to 4,299)
8. Hudson, +779 babies (5,229 to 6,008)
9. Asher, +754 babies (4,305 to 5,059)
10. Wyatt, +750 babies (8,847 to 9,597)		1. Riaan, +1,360 spots (2,286th to 926th)
2. Huxley, +392 spots (1,354th to 962nd)
3. Wilder, +360 spots (1,324th to 964th)
4. Jaziel, +276 spots (1,215th to 939th)
5. Canaan, +271 spots (1,077th to 806th)
6. Kaison, +251 spots (981st to 730th)
7. Brixton, +212 spots (1,197th to 985th)
8. Ridge, +204 spots (1,136th to 932nd)
9. Omari, +198 spots (708th to 510th)
10. Jabari, +194 spots (1,139th to 945th)

Riaan was boosted by a celebrity baby born in late 2014 to Bollywood actors Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza.

Jaziel’s rise seems to be due to Jaziel Avilez, a young singer featured in the 2014 song “Padre Ejemplar” [vid] by Mexican group Los Titanes de Durango.

Omari’s rise can be traced back to American actor Omari Hardwick, who has appeared in the TV shows Being Mary Jane and Power lately, and Jabari’s to basketball player Jabari Parker, the second overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

Biggest Decreases

Raw number decreases (all boy names)Ranking decreases (top 1,000 boy names)
1. Jase, -1,459 babies (3,737 to 2,278)
2. Jayden, -1,448 babies (12,923 to 11,475)
3. Joshua, -1,123 babies (10,843 to 9,720)
4. Andrew, -1,097 babies (11,124 to 10,027)
5. Michael, -1,079 babies (15,400 to 14,321)
6. Jacob, -996 babies (16,812 to 15,816)
7. Anthony, -974 babies (11,538 to 10,564)
8. William, -967 babies (16,776 to 15,809)
9. Jace, -965 babies (6,276 to 5,311)
10. Alexander, -902 babies (15,362 to 14,460)		1. Arnav, -666 spots (888th to 1,554th)
2. Jayse, -257 spots (910th to 1,167th)
3. Neymar, -240 spots (550th to 790th)
4. Rylee, -228 spots (879th to 1,107th)
5. Johnathon, -213 spots (915th to 1,128th)
6. Broderick, -195 spots (971st to 1,166th)
7. Brenden, -187 spots (711th to 898th)
8. Yael, -178 spots (913th to 1,091st)
9. Aidyn, -173 spots (925th to 1,098th)
10. Gavyn, -167 spots (944th to 1,111th)

I can remember Neymar debuting in 2010 under the influence was Brazilian footballer Neymar.

In 2014, the big winners were Oliver and Bode, and the big losers were Jayden and Bently.

Sources: Change in Popularity from 2014 to 2015 – SSA, Emma and Noah Once Again Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names for 2015 – SSA

Top Hebrew baby names in Israel, 5775

Flag of Israel
Flag of Israel

According to data from Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority, the most popular Jewish baby names in Israel for the Hebrew calendar year 5775 (September 25, 2014, to September 13, 2015) were Tamar and Ori.

The other top names were…

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Tamar
2. Noa
3. Talia
4. Shira
5. Yael
6. Avigayil		1. Ori
2. Eitan
3. Ariel
4. Noam
5. David
6. Yoseph

The top Jewish names for the previous year, 5774, were Tamar and Yosef.

(This list doesn’t include the names of Muslim babies and Christian babies born in Israel.)

Source: 5775: How Many Were Born and What Are the Most Common Names?

Image: Adapted from Flag of Israel (public domain)

Top Hebrew baby names in Israel, 5774

Flag of Israel
Flag of Israel

The top Hebrew baby names in Israel were announced a few days ago.

According to data from the Population and Immigration Authority, the most popular Hebrew baby names for the Hebrew Calendar year 5774 (September 5, 2013, to September 24, 2014) were Tamar and Yosef.

Here are the top ten Hebrew names per gender:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Tamar
2. Noa
3. Shira
4. Adele
5. Talya
6. Yael
7. Lian
8. Miriam
9. Maya
10. Avigayil		1. Yosef
2. Daniel
3. Ori
4. Itai
5. Omer
6. Adam
7. Noam
8. Ariel
9. Eitan
10. David

Last year’s top Hebrew names were Noa and Noam, according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. (Later this year, the CBS will release all 3 sets of baby name rankings: Jewish, Muslim and Christian).

Source: Psst! The most popular boy’s name in Israel in 5774 was really Mohammed

Image: Adapted from Flag of Israel (public domain)