Raphael (given name)

Raphael is a given name derived from the Hebrew rāp̄ā'ēl (רָפָאֵל) meaning "God has healed". Raphael is one of the archangels according to Abrahamic tradition. The angel Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit, considered deuterocanonical by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and apocryphal by Protestants. Popularized in Western Europe, the name can be spelled Raphael, Raphaël, Rafael, Raffael, Raffaello, Raffiel, Refoel, Raffaele, or Refael depending on the language. The name is attested as far back as c. 1350 BC, appearing in a letter of Pabi, Prince of Lachish in center Israel, to Pharaoh Akhenaton ("Now have I sent you Rapha-el."). Usage of the name in the Anglosphere has been primarily among Roman Catholics. English Puritans considered it sacrilegious to name a child for an angel. United States census records show that men with the name Rafael or Raphael lived primarily in Spanish-speaking or French-speaking areas. The name has increased in use in the late 20th and early 21st centuries due to cultural influences such as Raphael, a character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.