Given name · also Hebrew

Yael

“having the strength of God”·“strength of God”

Yael is used as a given name. Interpretations include “having the strength of God” (Hebrew) and “strength of God”. These may reflect different naming traditions.

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Meaning & origin

What it means

Interpretations include “having the strength of God” (Hebrew) and “strength of God”. These may reflect different naming traditions.

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.

How it developed

From Hebrew יעל.

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The story

The name has a place in biblical naming traditions.

Yael through the years

Babies since 1880: 9,708; 5,207 boys · 4,501 girls
Most popular year: 2023; 472 babies
2025: 431; #818 for boys · #1,642 for girls
2021–25 vs 2016–20: +28%; Rising

Boys Girls

Yael in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1954–2025, per million births of each sex. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Boys, girls and both

The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 65% boys.

Boys Girls

Five-year rolling share of U.S. births. Blank stretches had too few births to read.

Where it’s given

Most at home inNew Jersey, New York, Texas

FewerMore, relative to births Not published

2025 births by state of birth. Tiles are equal-sized so small states stay visible. Highest rates: New Jersey (29), New York (56), Texas (58), California (55), Florida (23).

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 304 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 818 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 34.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 127 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (51). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,524 as a first name in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Yael’s family of names

In Dutch usage, Yael has a diminutive in Yaelletje. Yael has a related form in Jael. Yael has a related form in Jael.

Walk Yael’s family in the name graph

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Around the world

Yael has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.

6 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Nicknames & forms 11

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

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Spellings & scripts 1

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

יעלoriginal script · Yiddish

Across languages 1

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

Giaeleequivalent

People named Yael

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Appears in

Similar names

If you love Yael, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Hebrew · Shared

Sibling ideas

Names that share Yael’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Yael

A sister for Yael

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