Rachel (given name)

Rachel
	The Biblical Rachel and Leah by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Pronunciation	/ˈreɪtʃəl/ RAY-chəl,; French: [ʁaˈʃɛl],; German: [ʁaˈxɛl] (Germany) or [raˈxɛl] (Austria/Switzerland),; Dutch: [ˈrɑxɛl]
Gender	Female
Origin
Word/name	Hebrew
Meaning	ewe, one with purity
Other names
Nickname(s)	Rae, Rach
Related names	Rachael, Rae, Rahel, Rahela, Raquel, Raye, Ruchel

Rachel (Hebrew: רָחֵל, Standard Raḥel Tiberian Rāḫēl, Rāḥēl); also spelled Rachael, meaning "ewe")^[1]^[2] is a feminine given name. It is best known as the name of Biblical Rachel.

Popularity

The name ranks in the top hundred most popular names for girls in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia as well as in Israel. According to United States Social Security card applications in 2005, the name Rachel ranked 38th out of the top 100 names chosen by parents for their baby girls.^[3] Statistics for England and Wales from the Office for National Statistics show a decline in popularity of the name: it was the 9th most popular name given to baby girls in 1984, but only 235th in 2014.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Variants

Raechel (English)
Rachael (English)
Rachela (Polish)
Rachele (Italian)
Raquel (Portuguese)
Rachelle (French)
Racquel (English)
Ráhel (Hungarian)
Rahel/Rachel (German, Hebrew, Polish, Welsh, Indonesia)
Rahela (Hawaiian, Romanian, Croatian)
Rahil (Russian)
راحله (Raheleh) (Persian)
Ráichéal (Irish)
Raahel (Malayalam)
Ραχήλ (Rachíl) (Greek)
Raakel (Finnish)
Rakel (Scandinavian)
රාකෙල් (Rakel) (Sinhala)
Raichel (Tamil)
Rakhil (Russian)
Rakhila (Russian)
Raheli (Swahili)
Rakul (Faroese)
Raquel (Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Spanish)
Rashel (Russian)
Rashka (Hebrew)
Rashke (Hebrew)
Rechell (Hebrew)
Ruchel (Yiddish)
Raakel (Finnish)
راحیل (Raaheel) (Arabic)
ریچل (Rachel) (Urdu)^[7]

People named Rachel

Rachel, Biblical figure known for being the wife that Jacob loved
Rachel, wife of Rabbi Akiva (1st century)
Rachel, a French singer of the 1960s
Rachel Aberlin (16th-century) Jewish mystic
Rachel Allen (1972–), Irish celebrity chef
Rachel Amanda (1995-), Indonesian Actress, Singer, and Model
Rokhl Auerbakh (Rachel Auerbach) (1903–1976), Polish-Israeli writer, essayist, historian, and Holocaust scholar
Rachel Bilson (1981–), American actress
Rachel Bloom (1987–), American actress
Rachel Bluwstein (1890–1931), usually referred to simply as "Rachel", Hebrew-language poet from pre-state Israel
Rachel Bolan, born James Southworth (1966–), bassist of Skid Row
Rachel Brosnahan (1990–), American actress
Rachel Carson (1907–1964), US environmentalist, scientist
Rachel Chalkowski (1939–), Israeli midwife and gemach organiser
Rachel Corrie (1973–2003), American political activist
Rachel Cosgrove Payes (1922–1998), American author
Rachel Crow (1998–), American actress and singer
Rachel Dolezal (1977-), American former civil rights activist known for falsely claiming to be African American
Rachel Entwistle née Souza (1980–2006), American murder victim
Rachel Félix (1821–1858), 19th-century French actress (born Elisabeth Rachel Félix, better known only as Mademoiselle Rachel)
Rachel Lyman Field (1894-1942), American poet, novelist and children's fiction writer
Rachel G. Fox (1996–), American actress and singer
Rachel Fuller (1973–), British singer-songwriter
Rachel Hardiman (1961–), Irish cricketer
Rachel Harris (1979–), Australian swimmer
Rachel Haugh, English architect
Rachel Hunter (1969–), New Zealand supermodel and actress
Rachel Hurd-Wood (1990–), British actress
Rachel Kolly d'Alba (1981–), Swiss soloist violinist
G. Rachel Levy (1884–1966), author and cultural historian
Rachel Maddow (1973–), American journalist
Rachel Meghan Markle (1981–), Duchess of Sussex and former American actress
Rachel McAdams (1978–), Canadian actress
Rachel Nichols (1980–), American actress
Rachel Nickell (1968–1992), British murder victim
Rachel Parish (1981–), British sportswoman
Rachel Platten (1981–), American singer and songwriter
Rachel Portman (1960–), British composer
Rachel Rath (1976–), Irish actress
Rachel Ryan (1961–), American adult film actress
Rachel Scott (1981–1999), a victim in the Columbine High School massacre
Rachel Shoaf (1996–), American convicted of murder in 2013
Rachel Smith (1985–), Miss USA 2007
Rachel Stevens (1978–), English pop singer, best known as a member of the band S Club 7
Rachel Stuart (1972–), Jamaican-Canadian model and actress
Rachel Sutherland (1976–), New Zealand field hockey player
Rachel Sweet (1962–), American producer, singer, and actress
Rachel Ticotin (1958–), American film and television actress
Rachel Trachtenburg (1993–), American rock singer and drummer
Rachel True (1968–), American actress
Rachel Tucker (1981–), Northern Irish musical theatre actress, and singer
Rachel Walker (disambiguation), several people
Rachel Ward (1957–), English-born Australian actress, columnist, film director, and screenwriter
Rachel Weisz (1970–), British actress
Rachel Willis-Sørensen (1984–), American opera singer
Rachel York (1971–), American actress and singer
Rachel Zoe (1971–), American fashion designer, businesswoman, and writer

People named Rachael

Hecate (musician) (1976-), born Rachael Kozak, a Swiss music producer
Rachael Bella (1984-), an American actress, best known for her role in the 2002 film The Ring
Rachael Blake (1971-), an actress in the 2003 movie Perfect Strangers
Rachael Leigh Cook (1979-), an American actress
Rachael Finch (1988-), Miss Universe Australia 2009, 3rd runner-up at Miss Universe 2009
Rachael Flatt (1992-), a young American figure skater
Rachael Grinham (1977-), a professional squash player from Australia
Rachael Harris (1968-), an American actress and comedian
Rachael Heyhoe-Flint (1939-2017), an English cricketer
Rachael Lampa (1985-), an American singer/songwriter best known for her work in the anime series Revolutionary Girl Utena
Rachael MacFarlane (1976-), an American voice actress and sister of Seth MacFarlane
Rachael Price (1985-), an American jazz vocalist and lead vocalist of the band Lake Street Dive
Rachael Ray (1968-), an American celebrity chef, see Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels
Rachael Sage, an American songwriter
Rachael Scdoris (1985-), a blind American dog musher and cross country runner
Rachael Sporn (1968-), Australian female basketball player
Rachael Stirling (1977-), a British actress best known for from the BBC drama Tipping the Velvet
Rachael Taylor (1984-), an Australian actress
Rachael Yamagata (1977-), an American singer-songwriter

People named Rachelle

Rachelle Lefevre (1979-), Canadian actress
Rachelle Ann Go (1986-), Filipina singer
Rachelle Ferrell (1964-), American vocalist and musician

People named Rahel

Rahel Indermaur (1980-), Swiss opera singer
Rahel Jaeggi (1967-), German philosopher
Rahel Kiwic (1991-), Swiss footballer
Rahel Varnhagen (1771–1833), German writer
Rahel Vigdozchik (1989-), Israeli rhythmic gymnast

People named Raquel

Fictional characters named Rachel (or variants thereof)

Rachel Aldridge, Lady Sinderby, a character introduced in season 5 of the TV show Downton Abbey
Rachel Alucard, a character in the BlazBlue video game series
Rachel Amber, a side character in Life is Strange and a main character in its spinoff, Life is Strange: Before the Storm
Rachel, one of the six main characters of Animorphs
Rachel (Ninja Gaiden), a female warrior from the Ninja Gaiden series of video games
Naughty Rachel, a character in the British TV Series Green Wing
Rachel Berry, a character in the television series Glee
Rachel Brown, a character in the play Inherit the Wind
Rachel Carruthers, a character in the Halloween film series
Rachel Elizabeth Dare, a character in the young adult book series Percy Jackson & the Olympians
Rachel Dawes, Assistant District Attorney in the Batman series of movies.
Rachel Duncan, a character in the TV show Orphan Black^[8]
Rachel Lynde, a supporting character in Lucy Maud Montgomery's 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables
Rachel Gatina, a character in the TV show One Tree Hill
Rachel Gibson, a character in Season 5 of Alias
Rachel Green, a character in the TV series Friends
The Rachel haircut, a hairstyle popularized by the Friends character
Rachel Greene, a character in the TV series ER, daughter of Mark Greene
Rachel Kinski, a character in the Australian TV show Neighbours
Rachel Mason, Headmistress of Waterloo Road in the BBC drama Waterloo Road
Rachel Menken, Don Draper's client's daughter and a love interest in Mad Men
Rachel Moore, of Case Closed (Detective Conan)
Rachel Summers, a character in the Marvel Universe, daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey
Rachel Teller, a character in the Need for Speed Underground 2
Rachel, a character from the Rhapsody in Blue segment of the Disney movie Fantasia 2000
Rachel Zane, a character in the American TV show Suits
Rachael (Battle Arena Toshinden), a character in the Battle Arena Toshinden fighting game series
Rachel Dalles, a character in the Black Butler manga series and anime.
Rachel Taub, a supporting character on the TV show House, the wife of Dr. Chris Taub
Rachael, a replicant in sci-fi movie Blade Runner
Rachel, a friend of Vivian Ward and Kit DeLuca in the romantic movie Pretty Woman.

References

^ "Strong's Hebrew: 7353. רָחֵל (rachel) - ewe". Biblehub.com. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
^ "Leah and Rachel (No. 295)". Ccg.org. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
^ 100 most popular baby names for 2005, Chatham Journal
^ Powell-Smith, Anna. "Babies called Rachel in England & Wales since 1996". Retrieved 8 January 2016.
^ "Baby Names, England and Wales, 1904-1994" (XLS). Office for National Statistics. 28 July 2011.
^ "Baby Names, England and Wales, 2014" (XLS). Office for National Statistics. 17 August 2015.
^ Facebook Twitter Google + LinkedIn. "Rachel Urdu Meanings: ریچل - rachel - English to Urdu Dictionary". Hamariweb.com. Retrieved 2015-12-17. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
^ "Rachel Duncan - BBC America".

This page or section lists people that share the same given name.
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[1] "Strong's Hebrew: 7353. רָחֵל (rachel) - ewe". Biblehub.com. Retrieved 2015-12-17.

[2] "Leah and Rachel (No. 295)". Ccg.org. Retrieved 2015-12-17.

[3] 100 most popular baby names for 2005, Chatham Journal

[4] Powell-Smith, Anna. "Babies called Rachel in England & Wales since 1996". Retrieved 8 January 2016.

[5] "Baby Names, England and Wales, 1904-1994" (XLS). Office for National Statistics. 28 July 2011.

[6] "Baby Names, England and Wales, 2014" (XLS). Office for National Statistics. 17 August 2015.

[7] Facebook Twitter Google + LinkedIn. "Rachel Urdu Meanings: ریچل - rachel - English to Urdu Dictionary". Hamariweb.com. Retrieved 2015-12-17. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)

[8] "Rachel Duncan - BBC America".

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