Rafaela
Recorded 1887–2025 · United States
Rafaela was most popular in 2011, when 60 American babies were given the name — ranking #4,950 that year. In 2025 it ranked #5,081, with 58 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 3,516 people named Rafaela.
Rafaela over time
How old is the name Rafaela?
Rafaela first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1887, which makes it about 138 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 134 of the 139 years since.
How many people are named Rafaela?
The Social Security Administration has recorded 3,516 American births named Rafaela between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 2,272 are estimated to be alive today.
How many babies were named Rafaela in 2025?
58 American babies were named Rafaela in 2025, ranking #5,081 that year.
Is Rafaela getting more or less popular?
Rafaela is holding steady. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 49 births a year, against 41 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of +20% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Is Rafaela a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Across the whole record Rafaela is a girl’s name — 100.0% of the 3,516 Americans given it were girls and 0.0% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
How old is someone named Rafaela?
Roughly 2,272 Americans named Rafaela are alive today — 65% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 34 years old, and half are between 13 and 61. That is a wide band, the mark of a name in steady use across generations rather than a passing fashion.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
Where Rafaela is most concentrated
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
Explore further
See Rafaela on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org