US Name Trends

Ariel

Hebrew Ari’el, “lion of God,” a name for Jerusalem in Isaiah.

1991peak year
No. 66best rank (1991)
100,665babies since 1880
No. 355rank in 2025

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Ariel per year — peak 5,411▬ girls ▬ boys18801900192019401960198020002020

Ariel first shows up in the national records in 1892. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1990 to 1992. Its biggest year was 1991, when 5,411 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 66 nationally. In 2025 it ranked No. 355 for girls. The name has also seen real use for boys: 21,968 of the 100,665 Americans given the name since 1880.

Related names

Other spellings on record: Arielle (30,921), Aerial (2,007), Arial (1,197), Aurielle (1,083), Auriel (981), Ariell (900) (total births since 1880)

Other names that share a story: Isaiah

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By the decade

DecadeBirthsBest rank
1890s15No. 1450
1900s52No. 1203
1910s156No. 1241
1920s129No. 1816
1930s83No. 2521
1940s86No. 2251
1950s63No. 3662
1960s139No. 2350
1970s717No. 895
1980s6,353No. 209
1990s28,142No. 66
2000s16,265No. 184
2010s19,377No. 132
2020s7,120No. 199

Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.

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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.