girl's name
Raphaëlle
ra-fa-EL
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Letters 9
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 19,865
France
#189
2025 births
Raphaëlle is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God heals," the French feminine of Raphaël, and the archangel it names is the one who travels in disguise. It ranks 189th in France and is rising.
- Raphaëlle is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 2023, when 365 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,933 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
Raphaëlle over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 100 |
| 1910s | 120 |
| 1920s | 140 |
| 1930s | 115 |
| 1940s | 105 |
| 1950s | 225 |
| 1960s | 720 |
| 1970s | 1,620 |
| 1980s | 2,260 |
| 1990s | 2,345 |
| 2000s | 2,320 |
| 2010s | 2,615 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,945 |
What Raphaëlle means
Raphaëlle means God heals, or God has healed. The Hebrew joins rapha, to heal, with El, God — a statement about what God does rather than a description of the child.
Where Raphaëlle comes from
Raphaëlle is the French feminine of Raphaël, from the Hebrew Rapha'el. Raphael is named in the Book of Tobit, where he travels with the young Tobias disguised as a human companion, arranges his marriage, drives off a demon and heals Tobit's blindness before revealing himself — the only extended narrative any angel gets in scripture. He is one of the three archangels named in the tradition, alongside Michael and Gabriel, and is the patron of travelers and of healing. The painter Raffaello Sanzio is the name's other great bearer. The diaeresis in the French spelling marks the a and e as separately pronounced, giving three syllables, and the doubled l with the -e is what makes it feminine.
Raphaëlle in use
Raphaëlle ranks 189th in France with about 310 births in 2025 and is rising in our data with a peak in 2023. Our records carry it from 1900. It is very rare elsewhere at 3,211th in England and Wales and 12,560th in the United States — the diaeresis and the three-syllable reading give non-French speakers no route in, which is the same pattern as Maëlys and Aloïs.
How popular is Raphaëlle?
In 2025, Raphaëlle was given to 305 babies in France, ranking #189 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Raphaëlle is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Raphaëlle is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Raphaelle | Raphaelle is a spelling of Raphaëlle, used in Canada, where it ranks #192. | 14,400 |
Names that peaked alongside Raphaëlle
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Raphaëlle also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Raphaëlle over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
5 nicknames for Raphaëlle
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Raphaëlle 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 Raphaëlle
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Raphaëlle — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Raphaëlle
What does the name Raphaëlle mean?
Raphaëlle means "God heals," from the Hebrew rapha, to heal, and El, God.
Who is the archangel Raphael?
The angel of the Book of Tobit, who travels disguised as a human, drives off a demon and heals Tobit's blindness.
How do you pronounce Raphaëlle?
ra-fa-EL, three syllables. The diaeresis marks the a and e as separately sounded.
How popular is Raphaëlle?
189th in France, and rare everywhere else.
Is Raphaëlle a girl's or a boy's name?
Raphaëlle is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
What are the nicknames for Raphaëlle?
Raphaëlle is usually shortened to Rafael, Rafe, Rafa, Ralph and Rafi.
Is Raphaëlle a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Raphaëlle currently ranks #189 in France. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.