Dictionary of Medieval Names
from European Sources

Rachel f. Hebrew רָחֵל 'ewe'.

The name of the Biblical wife of Jacob and matriarch. Wycliffite Bible (1395): Rachel.

The name was rare before the 16th century, and came into use in England, France, and the Netherlands with the Reformation, when it was popular among Protestants. For more information, see Withycombe s.n. Rachel.

England
Latin
1561 Rachaell (nom) RegSoABap p. 3
Dutch
1572 Rachael AuFr Henricxs, Rachel ibid. Henricx; 1573 Rachel ibid. Geeraerts; 1575 Rachel ibid. Courselis; 1578 Rachel ibid. Hekkelaerts; 1581 Rachel ibid. Meijnet; 1582 Rachel ibid. Clerckx; 1584 Rachel ibid. Pifferoens; 1592 Rachel ibid. Raede; 1597 Rachel ibid. Fautil
Early Modern English
1558–9 Rachell StMary-Ke p. 2; 1569 Rachell CAmar-vol1 p. 2; 1588 Rachell OrpingtonKe p. 8; 1592 Rachell RegBath p. 10; 1597 Rahel RegPat p. 41
Middle French
1568 Rachel WCS p. 39; 1569 Rachel ibid. p. 39; 1570 Rachel ibid. p. 6; 1571 Rachel ibid. p. 41; 1573 Rachel ibid. p. 41; 1575 Rachel ibid. p. 42; 1576 Rachel ibid. p. 42; 1579 Rachel ibid. p. 15; 1580 Rachel ibid. p. 16; 1581 Rachel ibid. p. 16; 1582 Rachel ibid. p. 17; 1583 Rachel ibid. p. 102; 1587 Rachel ibid. p. 21; 1588 Rachel ibid. p. 48; 1589 Rachel ibid. p. 48; 1590 Rachel ibid. p. 49; 1591 Rachel ibid. p. 23; 1592 Rachel ibid. p. 49; 1593 Rachel ibid. p. 25; 1594 Rachel ibid. p. 51; 1595 Rachel ibid. p. 51; 1596 Rachel ibid. p. 52; 1597 Rachel ibid. p. 52; 1598 Rachel ibid. p. 52; 1599 Rachel ibid. p. 27
Walloon
1581 Rachel RWC p. 3; 1581/2 Rachel ibid. p. 563; 1582 Rachel ibid. p. 4; 1582/3 Rachel ibid. p. 5; 1583 Rachel ibid. p. 6; 1583/4 Rachel ibid. p. 8; 1590/1 Rachel ibid. p. 15; 1590 Rachelle ibid. p. 14; 1592 Rachel ibid. p. 22; 1593 Rachel ibid. p. 564; 1594 Rachel ibid. p. 32; 1594/5 Rachel ibid. p. 36; 1595 Rachel ibid. p. 39; 1596 Rachel ibid. p. 41; 1596/7 Rachel ibid. p. 45; 1598 Rachel ibid. p. 49; 1598/9 Rachel ibid. p. 51; 1599 Rachel ibid. p. 51
France
Middle French
1562 Rachel RegPCC-1 p. 15; 1563 Rachel ibid. p. 18; 1564 Rachel ibid. p. 49; 1565 Rachel ibid. p. 123; 1566 Rachel ibid. p. 198; 1567 Rachel ibid. p. 289; 1568 Rachel ibid. p. 363; 1570 Rachel ibid. p. 426; 1572 Rachel ibid. p. 515
Cite as: A. Brown, J. Uckelman, S.L. Uckelman. "Rachel". In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2023, no. 1. http://dmnes.org/2023/1/name/Rachel.