Fun Facts About the Name Rapha
- 73 babies named Rapha: U.S. records list 73 babies given the name Rapha from 1880 through 2025. Even 5 girls received the name Rapha - about 1 girl for every 14 boys.
What Does the Name Rapha Mean?
Rapha is a Hebrew name from the root r-p-ʾ (Hebrew רָפָא), "to heal." In the Hebrew Bible it appears as a personal name, and it is commonly explained as "he has healed" or "healer." The same root forms the longer name Raphael (Hebrew רְפָאֵל, Refaʾel), which adds El, "God," and is conventionally translated "God has healed." Because Rapha lacks the divine element, "healing" or "healer" is the more literal sense for the shorter name; "God has healed" belongs to Raphael and to Rapha only when it is used as a shortened form of that name.
Rapha Name History & Origins
The Hebrew Bible has the personal name Rapha in the Benjaminite genealogy of 1 Chronicles 8:37, where Rapha is listed as the son of Binea and the father of Eleasah, in a line descended from Saul. A similar Hebrew form, Raphah, appears in 2 Samuel 21 in phrases usually translated "the giant"; whether it is a personal name or a title is debated, so it is not certain that it is the same name.
The longer name Raphael is built from the same healing root. In the Book of Tobit, Raphael is an archangel, and the name entered Jewish and Christian angelic tradition. Raphael and forms such as Rafael became established given names in Jewish and Christian communities. Shortened forms such as Rafa and Rafi are common in several languages; Rapha is a spelling of that short form, with ph following the Latinized tradition of Raphael rather than the plain transliteration Rafa.
How Popular is the Name Rapha?
Rapha has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2024. Its best rank was #5,589 in 2024.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #16,722 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #6,722 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2024 | #5,589 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2023 | #6,150 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2021 | #5,726 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2016 | #10,486 | 7 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Rapha Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are a law unto itself. Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. You are tolerant and like to help humanity. You are very active. You are generally warmhearted and gives freely of your time, energy, and sympathetic understanding. You have tolerance and acceptance of the frailties of others. Universal and humanitarian in outlook. This is very compassionate name. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Rapha's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Rapha's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.