The story in the numbers

572,695 girls have been named Rachel in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1985, with 16,361 births — 0.95% of all girls recorded that year.

It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 155 → 247).

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1987, and the 1990s alone account for 26%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 43 of them in the top 100 and 1 in the top 10.

It is overwhelmingly a girl’s name: 1,791 boys have also been given it, 0.31% of the total.

Rank among girls, year by year

By decade

Decade

girls named Rachel

2,128

3,279

3,974

10,482

14,199

12,268

13,409

16,776

26,794

77,750

146,678

149,164

68,382

21,067

6,345

In 1985, its biggest year

Rachel was the 13th most given girl’s name that year. The top five girls’ names of 1985 were Jessica, Ashley, Jennifer, Amanda and Sarah. See all of 1985.

Names that rose and fell with Rachel

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

Other spellings in the data

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.