Meaning and history
Rachel derives from the Hebrew Raḥel, meaning "ewe." In the Old Testament, Rachel is Jacob's favourite wife; her father Laban first deceives Jacob into marrying her older sister Leah, then permits him to marry Rachel in exchange for seven years of work. Initially unable to conceive, Rachel gives her handmaid Bilhah to Jacob to bear children and later becomes the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. The name was common among medieval Jews but entered general Christian use in the English-speaking world after the Protestant Reformation. Its popularity rose from the 1960s and peaked in the 1980s and 1990s, with Rachel Green from Friends (1994-2004) possibly slowing its later decline. Notable bearers include Rachel Carson, Rachel Weisz, and Rachel McAdams.
20062006: 5,551 births, rank #48
2007: 4,841 births, rank #59
2008: 4,087 births, rank #74
2009: 3,589 births, rank #89
2010: 3,024 births, rank #99
20112011: 2,664 births, rank #115
2012: 2,420 births, rank #130
2013: 2,325 births, rank #137
2014: 2,090 births, rank #155
2015: 1,941 births, rank #167
20162016: 1,884 births, rank #171
2017: 1,622 births, rank #191
2018: 1,558 births, rank #198
2019: 1,548 births, rank #191
2020: 1,305 births, rank #226
20212021: 1,271 births, rank #239
2022: 1,263 births, rank #240
2023: 1,224 births, rank #254
2024: 1,292 births, rank #246
20252025: 1,225 births, rank #250
Rachel moved from #246 to #250 for girls between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1985, with 16,360 births.