Raphael

Where Raphael comes from

Latin Raphael. From Koine Greek Ῥᾱφᾱήλ (Rhāphāḗl), from Hebrew רָפָאֵל (Rāfāʾēl, literally “God cures/has healed”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Raphael
  • Hebrew
  • 3 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1882
    First appearance
    #943 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1900
    Raphael Lemkin born
    Polish Jewish lawyer
  3. 1969
    Raphael Warnock born
    American pastor and politician
  4. 2025
    Peak, #394
    807 babies named Raphael — more than any year before or since.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Hebrew.
Namesakes
  • Raphael Lemkin · Polish Jewish lawyer, 1900–1959
  • Raphael Warnock · American pastor and politician, born 1969
  • Raphael Holzdeppe · German pole vaulter, born 1989
  • Raphael Botti · Brazilian association football player, born 1981
  • Raphael Dwamena · Ghanaian association football player, 1995–2023

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.