Yael

Did you know?

A few things about Yael you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Yael

Yael Naim

Israeli singer

Choose Yael and your child shares a first name with Yael Naim, an Israeli singer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Yael, like who?” Yael Naim's Wikipedia article is available in 25 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Yael Naim on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Duk3L1xon, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 5,618 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Yael, 304 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Yael would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryYael first shows up in US birth records in 1954, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 71 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 2023, when it reached #775.
• 📈Then vs nowYael is 12× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 69,930 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 5,618.
• 🚀TrendYael has climbed 194 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #817. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedYael is most popular in Massachusetts, where it ranks #378, followed by Arizona (#412) and North Carolina (#512). It's in the top 1,000 in 14 states.
• ⚖️Boy or girlYael is given to both boys and girls: 71% of the 431 babies named Yael in 2025 were boys. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
• 💬MeaningIn Hebrew, Yael means “mountain goat”.

About the name Yael

Yael is a gender-neutral name of Hebrew origin meaning “mountain goat”. It has 4 letters and 1 syllable, starting with Y and ending in “-ael”. US birth records list Yael for boys from 1984 to 2025, in 35 of those 42 years. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked #775 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #817, with 304 babies. Of the 431 US babies named Yael in 2025, 29% were girls and 71% were boys.

Origin:Hebrew names