Rachel

Rachel meaning

Rachel is a Christian and international girl's name of Hebrew origin.

Ewe, a female sheep

Rachel comes from the Hebrew Rāḥēl (רָחֵל), the same word as rāḥēl, "ewe", a female sheep. In Genesis she is the younger daughter of Laban, and Jacob first meets her at a well when she comes to water her father's flock. He serves Laban seven years to marry her and loves her more than her sister Leah. After long childlessness she becomes the mother of Joseph and later of Benjamin, and she dies giving birth to Benjamin on the road to Bethlehem, where Jacob sets up a pillar over her grave. The prophet Jeremiah later pictures Rachel weeping for her children. Raquel and Rahel are among the name's other forms.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, H7354 · entry Rachel · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Strong's H7354, Rachel, with Brown-Driver-Briggs

Famous namesakes

• Rachel, wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin

Popularity abroad

• #250 United States, girls 2025 (down 4 from 246 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #394 England and Wales, girls 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Rachel · Rachael

Related names

Also meaning nature

Also starting with Rac-

More names of Hebrew origin

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