Rachel
/ˈreɪtʃəl/
noun
Origin
Hebrew
רָחֵל — ewe
Overview
Meaning Now
- A female given name of Hebrew origin.
- A biblical figure appearing in the Book of Genesis as the favorite wife of Jacob.
Literal older meaning
ewe
Language path
Hebrew → Greek → Latin → English
Earliest form
רָחֵל (Rāḥēl)
Earliest period
11. yüzyıl öncesi (İbranice)
Journey
In the Hebrew Bible, Rachel is the daughter of Laban and the younger, favorite wife of the patriarch Jacob. She is the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Her name symbolizes beauty and pastoral innocence in Western cultural history.
Evolution
- Biblical Hebrew
רָחֵל (Rāḥēl)
“ewe”
Name of a matriarch.
- Septuagint (Greek)
Ῥαχήλ (Rhachēl)
“Rachel”
Hellenization of the Hebrew name.
- Late Latin
Rachel
“Rachel”
Ecclesiastical adoption into Latin.
- Middle English
Rachel
“Rachel”
Used widely after the Protestant Reformation.
Connections
Word parts
רחל
root
to be like a ewe / ewe
Related across languages
French
Rachel
Spanish
Raquel
Rachel
Italian
Rachele
Rachel
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Related to Rachel
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.