girl's name
Raquel
ra-KEL
- Origin Spanish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 53,439
Scotland
#683
1994 births
Raquel means ewe, and the animal is the point — Rachel is a shepherd in Genesis, met at a well while watering her father's flock, so the name and the story match exactly. Leah and Deborah are animal names too.
- Raquel is a name of Spanish origin.
- Peaked in 1970, when 1,478 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 15,863 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1900.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Raquel over time
Births per decade in the United States, 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 | 23 |
| 1910s | 127 |
| 1920s | 497 |
| 1930s | 820 |
| 1940s | 862 |
| 1950s | 1,569 |
| 1960s | 4,227 |
| 1970s | 9,655 |
| 1980s | 9,879 |
| 1990s | 11,050 |
| 2000s | 6,877 |
| 2010s | 3,822 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,570 |
What Raquel means
Raquel means a ewe, a female sheep. The Hebrew names the animal directly, and in context it describes a woman whose work was with flocks.
Where Raquel comes from
Raquel is the Spanish and Portuguese form of Rachel, the Hebrew Rachel — a ewe. Genesis introduces her watering her father's sheep at a well, so the name fits the life; Jacob works fourteen years for her and is given her sister Leah first. Animal names were ordinary in the period — Leah is generally read as a wild cow, and Deborah as a bee. The Spanish form entered English use largely in the twentieth century.
Raquel in use
Raquel peaked in the United States in 1970, when 1,478 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 1121st in the United States on 209 births, 2086th in France on 15 and 2189th in England and Wales on 13, across 53,439 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1900.
How popular is Raquel?
In 2025, Raquel was given to 209 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Raquel 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.
Names that peaked alongside Raquel
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Raquel also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Raquel over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Raquel 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 Raquel
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Raquel — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Raquel
What does the name Raquel mean?
A ewe — the Hebrew Rachel.
Why an animal name?
They were ordinary. Leah is read as a wild cow and Deborah as a bee.
Does the story fit the name?
Exactly. Genesis introduces Rachel watering her father's sheep at a well.
How popular is Raquel?
1121st in the United States, down from a 1970 peak of 1,478 births.
Is Raquel a girl's or a boy's name?
Raquel is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Raquel?
Raquel has 2 syllables.
Is Raquel a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Raquel currently ranks #1,121 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.