Raphaël
The French form of a Hebrew name meaning "god heals". Fewer than 150 Poles carry it, all of them men, so most people here will go a lifetime without meeting one.
Raphaël Pronunciation
What Raphaël means
Where Raphaël comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Raphaël begins in Hebrew, joining rafa, "to heal", with El, "God". The short meaning stays close to that source: God heals. In the Book of Tobit, the archangel Raphael walks with young Tobias and cures the blindness of his father. That story kept the name tied to healing.
The spelling Raphaël, with the diaeresis over the e, is French, and France has held the name near the top of its boys' lists for years. The Italian form Raffaello belonged to the painter of Urbino, dead in 1520 at thirty-seven. One angel, one master of fresco, both carried under the same three Hebrew sounds.
In Poland the name arrives as Rafał. A boy called Rafał hears his name read out at imieniny on 29 September, the feast of the archangels. Rafał drops the French vowels and stays blunt, but keeps the meaning intact: God heals.
How many people are named Raphaël
1 in 147215 men in Poland is named Raphaël. 145 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2704 among male names.
Raphaël's popularity over time
2 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #1794 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2024.
Raphaël as a middle name
Raphaël is a first name for 145 men in Poland and a middle name for another 44, a 77/23 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 1183rd, between Pratap (44) and Sajmon (44).
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#1181 Panashe44
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#1182 Pratap44
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#1183 Raphaël44
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#1184 Sajmon44
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#1185 Sam44