Rachel is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin, meaning "ewe" or "female sheep". The name Rachel is derived from the Hebrew word רחל, which means "sheep".
In the Bible, Rachel was one of the two wives of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She was also the favorite wife of Jacob and was deeply loved by him.
The name Rachel has been popular throughout history and has been used by many notable figures. For example, Rachel Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose groundbreaking book "Silent Spring" sparked the environmental movement in the 1960s. Rachel Whiteread is a British contemporary artist who won the Turner Prize in 1993.
Today, Rachel remains a popular name for girls around the world. It has been consistently ranked among the top 1,000 names for girls in the United States since the early 20th century. In France, Rachel was the fourth most popular girl's name in the year 2000.
Based on the statistics provided for the name Rachel in the United States from 1899 to 2018, we can observe some interesting trends over time.
From 1899 to 1965, the number of births with the name Rachel remained relatively low and fluctuated between 5 and 13 births per year. However, starting in 1966, there was a significant increase in the popularity of this name, reaching a peak of 106 births in 1989.
The years from 1971 to 1984 saw a consistent rise in the number of Rachels born each year. This period started with 32 births in 1971 and reached its peak at 83 births in 1984. After this peak, the popularity of the name began to decline gradually.
Between 1985 and 1990, there were still a considerable number of Rachel births each year, ranging from 56 to 106. However, after 1990, the popularity of the name declined further, with fewer than 40 births per year until the year 2000.
From 2000 onwards, the number of Rachel births continued to decrease, with only a handful of births each year until 2018. The total number of births with the name Rachel in the United States from 1899 to 2018 is 1791. This data demonstrates that while Rachel was once quite popular, its popularity has since declined significantly.