Azael
A masculine name of uncertain origin, possibly Hebrew meaning "whom God strengthens".
Name Census estimates that about 3,481 living Americans carry the first name Azael. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Azael today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Azael births was 2024 (419 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Azael. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Azael with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Azael is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.5K
~ 1 in 98,464 Americans
Peak year
2024
419 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#655
Tracked since 1977
Census
Azael in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,206 people with the first name Azael, which placed it at #7,049 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#7,049
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,206 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
95.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Azael
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Azael is Hispanic at 95.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.2%) and Black (1.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Azael described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Azael at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.4% · 2,104
- White2.2% · 48
- Black or African American1.5% · 32
- Two or more races0.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Popularity
Azael: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Azael from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 1,495 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Azael by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Azael during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Azaels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. Texas, California, Arizona recorded the most babies named Azael, while Wisconsin, Tennessee, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 111 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Azael
The name Azael is believed to have its origins in Hebrew, with roots in the ancient Semitic languages of the Middle East. In Hebrew, the name is spelled עֲזָאֵל (Azazel), and it is derived from the words "azaz" (to be strong or powerful) and "el" (God). The meaning of Azael is often interpreted as "God strengthens" or "God has strengthened."
The name Azael is mentioned in the Book of Leviticus in the Hebrew Bible, where it refers to a mysterious entity associated with the ritual of the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement. Some scholars believe that Azael was a name used for a desert demon or fallen angel, while others interpret it as a place name or a symbolic representation of evil.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Azael can be found in the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish religious work composed around the 3rd century BCE. In this text, Azael is portrayed as one of the fallen angels who descended to Earth and taught humans various arts and sciences, leading to corruption and sin.
Throughout history, there have been notable figures who bore the name Azael or variations of it. One of the earliest was Azael the Levite, a biblical figure mentioned in 1 Chronicles 15:20 as a musician in the service of King David during the transportation of the Ark of the Covenant.
In the 9th century, Azael ben Shem Tov was a prominent Jewish philosopher and poet from Spain, known for his work on the philosophical principles of Judaism.
During the Renaissance period, Azael Sendivogius (1566-1636) was a Polish alchemist and philosopher who made significant contributions to the study of chemistry and the pursuit of the philosopher's stone.
In the 18th century, Azael Roscoe (1736-1809) was an English poet and author, known for his works on botany and translations of classical literature.
More recently, Azael Torne (1909-1976) was a Spanish painter and sculptor, known for his abstract and surrealist works, which were heavily influenced by his experiences during the Spanish Civil War.
While the name Azael may have its roots in ancient Hebrew and biblical sources, it has been adapted and used across various cultures and time periods, reflecting its enduring appeal and unique linguistic and historical significance.
People
Azael + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Azael as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Azael: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Azael?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,481 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Azael going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 98,464 US residents.
Is Azael a common name?
We classify Azael as "Rare". It ranks above 95.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,513 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Azael most popular?
The single biggest year for Azael was 2024, when 419 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Azael is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Azael in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,206 people with the name Azael, or 0.73 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,049 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Azael in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Azael?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Azael leans strongly male. 2,165 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 31 female bearers (1.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Azael?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Azael is Hispanic at 95.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.2%) and Black (1.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Azael most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Azael in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.4% (2,104 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Azael in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Azael a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Azael in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Azael still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Azael in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Azael can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Azael?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Azael at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.