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I love Rachel. It's my mn but I wish it wasn't coz I want to use it. I've only ever met one Rachel that I can think of, a girl my age (21). She spelt it Rachael I think.
Rachel from Friends is one of my main associations, but not my first (I probably think of Rachel Hunter first). But I don't automatically think of anything/anyone when I think of the name, and none of those associations bother me anyway).
I didn't think it was ever really that common, but that's probably more to do with where I live.

I love Rachel mainly because it is the name of one of my best friends. There are still a few little Rachels running around (some in my younger sibs' classes at school/preschool and also some at the childcares I work at) but its no where near as common as it once was. I think there were 3 or 4 in my grade at school...and I know quite a few of all ages.

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I am surprised it isn't as common any more but Sarah isn't as common either which surprises me. I still see Rebecca, Sarah and Rachel as classics though, I don't think it is easy to tell how old a Rachel is just by her name so it doesn't date someone.

Popular or not, I think Rachel has a very grating sound. I honestly never saw the appeal in this name. I know quite a few Rachels, I wouldn't say its as popular as some other names, but it will always remain common.

I love it. I don't think of Friends, mainly because I was never into that show. I also like Rachael.

It's okay, but it is overused where I live. I don't like the "rach" sound - reminds me of "wretch" too much. I prefer the Irish form Ráichéal (raw-chyale, with the "ch" in "loch" or "Bach").

It's a nice enough name, but does feel overused, even though not as much as Sarah. But it can do with some rest.

I've never cared for it too much. It does remind me of friends a bit.

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I never thought of it as anywhere near as popular as Sarah or Rebecca.

I immediately think of Rachel Green from Friends. I know about 3 Rachels, and they are about my age (22). It's a nice name though.

It's a very nice name, but I've met so many Rachels, most of them in their teens. However, I don't see many babies named Rachel. There is one Rachael I know, also in her teens. Rachel and Rachael are the only spellings I like though. I can't stand Rachelle or Racheal or any other variations.

I don't like the sound of Rachel. To my ear, it has a harsh, grating sound.

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However, I do know a couple of nice Rachels. One is a co-worker who just had her 48th birthday. The other is in her late 20s.

I like the name Rachel but I don't much care for it's meaning :/ My sister's name is Erin Rachel and she was born in the early 90's. It's really not surprsing to me that it has gone down in popularity. It's a bit bland nowadays with all the other "edgy" names.

There were five Rachels in my graduating class, out of ~220 girls. Friends doesn't even come to mind for me.

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In my school district, in grades 4th grade and up (thats when they make an email account for you, so that's as far back as I can look), we have 26, NOT including the five I mentioned above, it looks like. The class that has the most is 7th graders... kids about 12 years old.

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But I have seen it in some birth announcements. Personally, I like seeing it as a MN, I think it's cool there.

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..I guess I'm a bit surprised it lost popularity, but it's not out of the top 100 yet. It started falling after The Ring came out, I noticed, while the three other big names from that movie went up.

That's my name, only I spell it Rachael. I really like it; when I was growing up, it was popular, but that didn't bother me. I only knew one other Rachael in the class (and oddly enough, she spelled her name exactly like mine). Anyway, I always thought it was a pretty name with just a little bit of attitude. :)

I'm actually quite fond of Rachel; however, I prefer it in the secondary position.

I like Rachel almost as much as I like Leah, one of my favorites. I am not a fan of Rebecca or Sarah. I've always admired the Biblical character of Rachel and like the name because of her I think. The meaning kind of bothers me, however, every Rachel I have ever known has been gorgeous. I've known three. It dosen't remind me of Friends because I never watched Friends.

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I only like it when spelt Rachel, I think Rachael looks rather like a boys name. And I very much dislike Rachelle, or other variations.

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This message was edited 6/19/2009, 5:34 AM