girl's name
Rafaela
- Gender Girl
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 4,542
Ireland
#934
2019 births
Rafaela is a girl's name. In 2025 it was given to 58 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
- Peaked in 2011, when 60 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 57,162 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1887.
Rafaela over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 12 |
| 1890s | 38 |
| 1900s | 107 |
| 1910s | 233 |
| 1920s | 437 |
| 1930s | 286 |
| 1940s | 256 |
| 1950s | 279 |
| 1960s | 201 |
| 1970s | 225 |
| 1980s | 234 |
| 1990s | 222 |
| 2000s | 276 |
| 2010s | 416 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 294 |
How popular is Rafaela?
In 2025, Rafaela was given to 58 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Rafaela is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Rafaela is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Rafaëla | Rafaëla is a rare spelling of Rafaela, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 60 times, mostly in France. | 60 |
Names that peaked alongside Rafaela
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Rafaela also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Rafaela over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Rafaela in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Rafaela
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Rafaela — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Rafaela
How popular is the name Rafaela?
In 2025, Rafaela was given to 58 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Rafaela a girl's or a boy's name?
Rafaela is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Rafaela most popular?
Rafaela peaked in 2011, when 60 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Rafaela a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Rafaela currently ranks #2,120 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.