Rafael

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4.71

(14 votes)

Male Name

Usage

Old Swedish
Finnish
Swedish
Norwegian
Danish
Icelandic
Greenlandic
Faroese

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Origin and Meaning

1) Deriving from the Hebrew name רָפָאֵל (Rafa'el) meaning 'God has healed'

First element (Rafa-):

Hebrew rafa = 'heals'

Last element (-el):

Hebrew el = 'the Lord, God' (see ELI)

2) "Latinisation" of Ragnvaldr

Related Names

Raafael	♂
Rafael	♂
Raffael	♂
Raffel	♂
Raphael	♂

See also Raahvaeli (Finnish), Rabbe, Rafal (Polish), Rafaël (Dutch), Raffa, Raffaele (Italian), Rafi (Hebrew), Raphaël (French), Râvfaile (Greenlandic)

For female forms see Rafaela

Patronyms [What's That?]

Male

Rafaelsson

Female

Rafaelsdóttir

Grammar

- Danish
Nominative:	Rafael
Genitive:	Rafaels

- Faroese
Nominative:	Rafael
Accusative:	Rafael
Dative:	Rafaeli
Genitive:	Rafaels

- Finnish
Nominative:	Rafael
Genitive:	Rafaelin
Partitive:	Rafaelia

- Icelandic
Nominative:	Rafael
Accusative:	Rafael
Dative:	Rafael
Genitive:	Rafaels

- Norwegian
Nominative:	Rafael
Genitive:	Rafaels

- Swedish
Nominative:	Rafael
Genitive:	Rafaels

Name Days

Finland (Swedish Language)

22 December

Sweden

24 March

Further Information

• Iceland: Officially approved as a given name

Earliest Documented Usage

• Sweden: 1470

Strongest Period of Usage

• Norway:
  • 18th and 19th century
  • 2000-
• Sweden:
  • 1920-1939

Predominant Regional Usage

• Norway:
  • Vestlandet
  • Trøndelag
• Sweden:
  • Östsverige

Bible

• Rafael is one of the archangels

Namesakes

• Finland:
  • Rafael Waldemar Erich (10 June 1879 – 19 February 1946), Finnish politician, diplomat and prime minister of Finland (1920-1921)
  • Kustaa Rafael Paasio (né Hellström, 6 June 1903 – 17 March 1980), Finnish politician and prime minister of Finland (1966-1968 and 1972)

Trivia

• Sweden: In January 1973, 398 people were named Rafael (percentage of first or only given name: 10 %)

Statistics

Name Count per Country (What's this?)

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Country	Commonness Commonness	Total		Female ♀		Male ♂
		as main name#	also middle name&	as main name#	also middle name&	as main name#	also middle name&
Finland		n.a.	12958	0	0	n.a.	12958
Sweden		1175	2526	0	15	1175	2511
Denmark		272	n.a.	1	n.a.	271	n.a.
Iceland		59	95	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
Greenland		11	46	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
Norway		434	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	434	n.a.
#: count of main first name only
&: count of both main and additional first names
Name counts are approximate as statistics normally is not published for names given to less than 3 or 5 persons per country.

 

Recent Statistics Trend

Sources: