Raphael

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

Boy's name · #394 in the US (2025) · Trending

Raphael is moving up the charts. First recorded in 1882, it stood at #394 in 2025 — its strongest showing yet; about 24,000 boys have been named Raphael along the way. Raph is a short form of Raphael. Together with its spelling variant Rafael (#218), Raphael would rank around #148 with about 2,400 births last year — the newborns split about 67/33 between Rafael and Raphael.

Around the world: #4 in France (2025) · #16 in Belgium (2025) · #27 in Austria (2025) · #56 in Canada (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 36 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Raphaels

Raphael — Italian painter and architect (1483–1520)
Raphaël Varane — French footballer (born 1993)
Raphaël Guerreiro — French-Portuguese footballer
Raphael Lemkin — Polish Jewish lawyer (1900–1959)
Raphael Warnock — American pastor and politician (born 1969)

In stories & tradition

Raphael — Paradise Lost · New Advent
Raphaël de Valentin — The Human Comedy
Raphael Sorel — fictional human

What Raphaels become

Among 1,668 notable people named Raphael:

Medical professionals appear 1.41× more often than among typical names — e.g. Raphaël Blanchard, French doctor and entomologist (1857-1919).

Similar names: Rafael · Luciano · Raiden · Kohen · Azrael · Ismael

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

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service