Unisex name
Ariel
1,008 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 2023. Expression number: 9.
Origin
From Biblical Hebrew אֲרִיאֵל (ari'él, a compound of אֲרִי (arí, “lion”) + אֵל (él, “God”), literally “lion of God”). (moon of Uranus): All of Uranus’s moons are named after characters created by William Shakespeare or Alexander Pope. The names of all four satellites of Uranus then known were suggested by John Herschel in 1852 at the request of William Lassell, though it is uncertain if Herschel devised the names, or if Lassell did so and then sought Herschel’s permission. Ariel is the name of the leading sylph in Pope’s The Rape of the Lock and also the spirit who serves Prospero in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.From Wiktionary, entry “Ariel”, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 2023: 69 births. 1,008 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 2010s and 2020s. It is given to girls (59%) as well as boys (41%). It really came into use around 2007. It is still given: 310 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the United States
Peak in 1991: 6,077 births. 100,665 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. At its peak, it ranked 66th among girls' names in 1991. It is given to girls (78%) as well as boys (22%). It really came into use around 1913. It is still given: 8,371 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
Elsewhere in the world
The name in the birth records of the 10 countries we track. The period covered varies from country to country.
| Country | Births | Period | Best rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 30,204 | 2012–2023 | 79th in 2012 |
| France | 2,675 | 1900–2025 | — |
| Quebec | 1,552 | 1980–2025 | — |
| Switzerland | 486* | 1915–2025 | — |
| Berlin | 46 | 2012–2023 | — |
* These are the people living in the country, counted by year of birth, not the number of births.
Source: RENAPER, Nombres propios en Argentina, CC BY 4.0 (the registry doesn't record sex); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms, Etalab Open Licence 2.0; Retraite Québec, Banque de prénoms, CC BY 4.0; Federal Statistical Office, First names of the population by year of birth, free use with attribution; Open Data Berlin, Häufige Vornamen, CC BY 3.0 DE (every name a child carries, not only the first).
The numbers of the name
Each letter has a value: A = 1, B = 2… I = 9, then J = 1 again (Pythagorean method). We add them up, then reduce to a single digit, except 11, 22 and 33.
■ vowel · ■ consonant
Expression
All the letters: talents, the way you act.
9
humanity, generosity, completion
1 + 9 + 9 + 5 + 3 = 27 → 9
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
6
responsibility, harmony, commitment to others
1 + 9 + 5 = 15 → 6
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
3
expression, creativity, sociability
9 + 3 = 12 → 3
- Digits missing from the name
- 2, 4, 6, 7, 8
- Most frequent digit
- 9 · humanity, generosity, completion
The meaning of the numbers comes from numerological tradition; it isn't a measure of your personality. A full portrait needs your first and middle names, your last name at birth, and your date of birth. How we calculate
Your name and theirs
The number of each name, and the number of the bond, which comes from adding them together. A symbolic game: what your two names say together, to be read as a metaphor, not as a verdict on your relationship.