U.S. first-name statistics

How common is Rachel?

Rachel was the #90 most frequent first name in the 2020 Census.

People with the first name Rachel

493,726

About 1 in 671 Americans had this first name in the 2020 Census.

Measured, privacy-protected national Census count—not a total of historical baby-name records.

National rank

#90

More common than 99.8% of listed first names

Peak year

1985

16,437 SSA-recorded births

2025 births

1,225

#535 across first names

Census frequency

1 in 671

Across the 2020 U.S. population

Sex distribution

Reported in the 2020 Census first-name table.

0.1% male99.9% female

Demographic distribution

Aggregated race and Hispanic-origin reporting in the 2020 Census name table.

White, non-Hispanic78.1%
Black, non-Hispanic4.67%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.57%
Asian / Pacific Islander3.57%
Two or more races3.76%
Hispanic or Latino9.30%

Reading the result

Rachel across two different records

The Census count answers “how many people had this name?” using a national snapshot of living residents in 2020. The SSA series answers “when was this name popular?” using Social Security card applications associated with births.

Rachel reached its highest published annual SSA count in 1985, with 16,437 recorded births. In 2025, SSA recorded 1,225 babies with the name.

Names do not determine a person’s identity. Demographic percentages above describe national aggregates and should never be applied to an individual.

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