A female name. Hebrew ‘ewe’; a common name among the Jews, but not used as a christian name in England until after the Reformation, In the 17th C, when it was used a good deal, it was often spelt Rachael.

(See also at Leah) Hebrew, ‘a ewe,’ emblematic of gentleness. The favourite wife of Jacob has always been a favourite among Biblical women, and the name received additional lustre from the magnificent tragic parts of Rachel, the Jewish-French actress, who, in 1858, died young and whose last illness forms the subject of a poem by Matthew Arnold.

From Ραχηλ Greek form of the Scripture name, in Hebrew רָחֵל, Rahhél, usually translated ‘a ewe’ (Arab. rakhil, rikl, a female lamb). Fuerstius translates the name ‘mutterschaft,’ i. e. motherhood, maternity.

Hebrew (feminine) - A ewe lamb.

Ray'-tchel, a sheep. The daughter of Laban, sister of Leah, and wife of Jacob. Gen. xxix. 6. The prophet Jeremiah and St Matthew have put Rachel for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the children of Joseph, the son of Rachel. Jer. xxxi. 15; Matt ii. 18.

Meaning: a ewe.

A Hebrew name, meaning: Ewe, symbol of gentleness and in­nocence.