Rafael

“Variant of Raphael — God has healed” — Hebrew, via Greek and Latin origin

Boy's name · #218 in the US (2025) · Trending

Rafael is moving up the charts. First recorded in 1880, it stood at #218 in 2025; about 89,000 boys have been named Rafael along the way. Together with its spelling variant Raphael (#394), Rafael would rank around #148 with about 2,400 births last year — the newborns split about 67/33 between Rafael and Raphael.

Around the world: #20 in Portugal (2023) · #27 in Croatia (2025) · #53 in Switzerland (2024) · #62 in Spain (2024) · #98 in Austria (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 40 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Rafaels

Rafael Correa — President of Ecuador (2007 - 2017) y Prófugo de la Justicia
Rafael Orozco Maestre — Colombian singer (1954-1992)
Rafael Nadal — Spanish tennis player (born 1986)
Rafael van der Vaart — Dutch association football player (born 1983)
Rafael Trujillo — President of the Dominican Republic (1891-1961)

In stories & tradition

Rafael Barba — Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Rafael Campo — Thuis
Rafael Montero — The Mask of Zorro

What Rafaels become

Among 4,555 notable people named Rafael:

Lawyers & judges appear 1.36× more often than among typical names — e.g. Rafael Casanova, Catalan lawyer and politician.

Similar names: Raphael · Nicolas · Raul · Andres · Miguel · Ismael

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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