Uriel
From Hebrew, "god is my light". Most Poles have never met one, yet last year brought more baby boys with the name than any year before, a small sign it's starting to catch on.
Uriel Pronunciation
Uriel is pronounced OOR-yel (/ˈurjɛl/).
What Uriel means
Where Uriel comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Uriel comes from Hebrew. The name joins `or`, light, with `El`, God, and it means "god is my light". In Jewish tradition Uriel is an archangel. He speaks in the Book of Enoch, and in the apocryphal 2 Esdras he answers the prophet Ezra's questions about divine justice and the last days.
The name held on among Sephardic families after the expulsions from Spain and Portugal. Uriel da Costa, a philosopher born around 1585 to a Portuguese family of Jewish descent, is one documented bearer. His life shows the name crossing from Iberia into the wider diaspora.
In Poland Uriel stays rare, and it reads as foreign on a school class register. It sits beside Gabriel and Michał, other Hebrew names built on `El`, yet it draws the eye. A boy given Uriel carries a short Hebrew sentence for a name. It says that god is my light.
When Uriel celebrates name day
Uriel appears 1 time in the Polish name day calendar, never as a main name. The first of these dates is 22 January.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
How many people are named Uriel
1 in 190591 men in Poland is named Uriel. 112 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #3224 among male names.
Uriel's popularity over time
5 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #970 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2024.
Where Uriel is most popular
Uriel is most popular in Lesser Poland, 852% above the national average (2 boys born 2019–2025).
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Lesser Poland2 boys born+852%
Uriel as a middle name
Uriel is a first name for 112 men in Poland and a middle name for another 102, a 52/48 split, almost evenly. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 707th, between Natanael (102) and Mateo (101).
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#705 Lewis102
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#706 Natanael102
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#707 Uriel102
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#708 Mateo101
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#709 Rodrigo101