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Dictionary of Medieval Names
from European Sources
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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
Dutch
● 1573 Rachel AuFr Geeraerts; 1575 Rachel ibid. Courselis; 1582 Rachel ibid. Clerckx; 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
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
Cite as: J. Uckelman, S.L. Uckelman. "Rachel". In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2016, no. 3. http://dmnes.org/2016/3/name/Rachel.