Name Awesome

Yael

#818 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Ibex, through יעל

Yael has been given to 9,708 babies in the U.S. since 1984. In 2025 it ranked #818 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2023, with 329 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 54% boys, 46% girls all-time.

Babies named Yael, 2025

1 in 10,900

Yael over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Yael over time

In 2025, Yael went to 29% girls and 71% boys.

19542025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Yael: meaning, origin, and history

Ibex, through יעל

Hebrew

What Yael means

Yael belongs to the name family reached through Yael → יעל. Its meaning is “ibex”.

Origin, language, and formation

Yael is used in English. Its origins include Hebrew.

Yael comes through Hebrew יעל.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include יעל.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,207 boys were recorded with the name Yael between 1984 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 329 in 2023; its best national rank was #776 in 2023.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,012 in 2020 to #818 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,095 in 2015 to #818 in 2025.

In the United States, 4,501 girls were recorded with the name Yael between 1954 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 166 in 2022; its best national rank was #1,386 in 2022.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,551 in 2020 to #1,642 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,893 in 2015 to #1,642 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Yael?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 10,900
304 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 5,620
0.02% of boys
Rank, 2025
#818
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
7,560 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Yael sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5004%

Put another way: gather 7,560 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Yael. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Yaels were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Yael was born before 2014 — so the typical Yael is around 11 today.

Median birth year
2014
About 11 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
40.7% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
97.2%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
5,207
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 40.7% of all recorded uses (2,118).

Is Yael rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−29
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+194
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+277
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.71×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
92.4%
Peak was 2023 (329)
Years since peak
2
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
10.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#776
2023

Spellings of Yael

Yael is not the most common spelling — Paul is, with 44.4% against Yael's 0.17%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Yael is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Yael was most concentrated in Arizona — about 1 in 2,857 boys, against 1 in 6,357 across all states with data. It was least common in Kentucky (1 in 50,000).

235 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Arizona1 in 2,857
  2. 2California1 in 4,167
  3. 3New Mexico1 in 4,167
  4. 4New Jersey1 in 4,348
  5. 5Nevada1 in 4,348
  6. 6Colorado1 in 4,545
  7. 7Texas1 in 4,545
  8. 8North Carolina1 in 5,882

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Where Yael is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Yael was most concentrated in New York — about 1 in 2,273 girls, against 1 in 9,147 across all states with data. It was least common in Ohio (1 in 100,000).

144 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1New York1 in 2,273
  2. 2New Jersey1 in 2,778
  3. 3Maryland1 in 4,000
  4. 4Florida1 in 7,143
  5. 5California1 in 11,111
  6. 6Massachusetts1 in 25,000
  7. 7Texas1 in 25,000
  8. 8Georgia1 in 50,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Yael around the world

Where Yael ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2005–2005
    #3,849
    in 2005
  • France
    1967–2025
    #551
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2012–2023
    #3,103
    in 2023

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques and Statistics Canada. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Yael

People whose public names include Yael, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Yael in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Yael. Linked forms have their own page here.

JaelGiaele

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Yael by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#818
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 194
Best rank ever
#776
2023
Peak year
2023
329 that year
First recorded
1984
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,207
Count in 2025
304

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#1,642
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 91
Best rank ever
#1,386
2022
Peak year
2022
166 that year
First recorded
1954
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
4,501
Count in 2025
127

Names similar to Yael

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

KaelCaelJaelAzaelIsaelNaelMaelLaelMikaelIzaelAsaelAzraelZaelMisaelDaelGaelWaelRaelIshmaelSaelAdaelIzraelChaelYisrael

Names with a curve like Yael

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Yael, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

IshaanDamariKoenBodeJesiahKooperBodenZyonGianlucaDhruvKylenDilan

Sibling names for Yael

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Yael

Top names of 2023, Yael's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 2023Boys' names starting with YHebrew Girl Names