Given name & surname
Raphael
“one who is healed by God”
Raphael is used as a given name and a surname. One Hebrew interpretation is “one who is healed by God.”
Original Hebrewrāfāʾēl
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “one who is healed by God.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
From Latin Raphael, from Koine Greek Ῥᾱφᾱήλ, from Hebrew רָפָאֵל (Rāfāʾēl, “God cures/has healed”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1882. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Raphael appears in 1 Chronicles 26:7.
From biblical name research
Raphael through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 24,581
- 24,258 boys · 323 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 807 babies
- 2025
- 807
- #394 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +25%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 807 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 394 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 24.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (116). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 20,518 as a first name in 2020; 4,585 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Raphael’s family of names
In English usage, Raphael has a diminutive in Rafi. Raphael shares a linguistic root with Rafael. Raphael has a related form in Rafal.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Raphael has relatives in 23 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 32
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- rāfāʾēlHebrew
- rᵉfāʾēlHebrew
- Refaelequivalent
- Raffaelecognate · Italian
- Raphaelafeminine form
- رفائيلequivalent
- Rafayelequivalent
- Raphaelson“son of” surname · English
Show 24 moreShow fewer
- Рафаэльborrowing · Russian
- Rafałsee also · Polish
- RaphaëlFrench
- Рафаїлequivalent
- RafaeliSwahili
- RapolasLithuanian
- RafaèlOccitan
- רפֿאלYiddish
- ՌաֆայելArmenian
- РафаилMacedonian
- رافائلPersian
- ラファエルJapanese
- RafieleSardinian
- ArrafieliSardinian
- RaffelNorwegian
- RafaëlDutch
- RaffaleItalian
- RafaeleItalian
- RaffaellItalian
- RaffelloItalian
- RaffaeloItalian
- RaahvaeliFinnish
- RaaffaeeliFinnish
- RaafaelFinnish
See also 15
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Raphael
- RaphaelItalian painter and architect (1483–1520)
- RaphinhaBrazilian association football player (born 1996)
- Raphael LemkinPolish Jewish lawyer (1900–1959)
- Raphael WarnockAmerican pastor and politician (born 1969)
- Raphael HolzdeppeGerman pole vaulterborn 1989
- Raphael BottiBrazilian association football playerborn 1981
- Raphael DwamenaGhanaian association football player (1995–2023)
- Raphael VeigaBrazilian association football playerborn 1995
- Raphael OnyedikaNigerian footballerborn 2001
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Raphael, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Adriel
“from God's flock”
98% boys · 2% girls
Hazael
“God has seen”
77% boys · 23% girls
Asa
“doctor, healer” · “born in the morning”
89% boys · 11% girls
Asaiah
“Yah has made”
97% boys · 3% girls
Axel
“source of life; small oak” · “axe”
>99% boys
Samson
“sun man”
>99% boys
Kohen
Kohen is a masculine given name from Hebrew.
98% boys · 2% girls
Yisroel
Yisroel is a masculine given name from Yiddish, ultimately from Hebrew.
>99% boys