Rafaela is a distinctive choice, ranked #2278 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Rafaela in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#2278
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About the Name Rafaela
Rafaela has seen a notable decline in recent years, dropping 132 places in five years. It was most popular in 2022 at #1282 — parents choosing it today are making a deliberately counter-trend decision. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1998.
Rafaela is rare in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Rafaela in their class.
⭐ Famous People Named Rafaela
Rafaela Gómez — Rafaela Gómez is an Ecuadorian tennis player.
Rafaela Zanella — Rafaela Köhler Zanella is a Brazilian model and beauty pageant titleholder of German and Italian descent who represented her country in the Miss Universe 2006 pageant.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Rafaela
Unlikely. With around 12 UK babies named Rafaela per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Rafaela in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Rafaela is declining: down 591 places since 2020, to #2,278 in 2025. It peaked at #1,282 in 2022.
Rafaela is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Rafaela include: Rafaela Gómez, Rafaela Zanella and Rafaela Dancygier. Short summaries for each appear below.
Rafaela does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Rafaelas in the wild.
12
UK babies named Rafaela (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↓ 591 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Rafaela
Almost certainly the only Rafaela in the class
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UK Popularity (1998–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Rafaela
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Rafaela Köhler Zanella is a Brazilian model and beauty pageant titleholder of German and Italian descent who represented her country in the Miss Universe 2006 pageant.
Rafaela Baroni Miliani, also known by the pseudonym aleafaR, was a Venezuelan sculptor, plastic artist, painter, poet, Actor and singer, self-taught whose work is oriented to her religious faith, and who, among others, received in 1989 the National Prize of Plastic Arts in the Popular Art category, and in 2005 the National Prize of Popular Culture, both awarded by the Venezuelan Ministry of Culture, as well as the Order of Andrés Bello in First Class in 2002.
Ceddanne Chipper Nicasio Marte Rafaela is a Curaçaoan professional baseball center fielder and shortstop for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB).