Ariel

AH-ree-el

Hebrew

"lion of God"

Ariel Origin and Meaning

The name Ariel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "lion of God".

Despite its distinguished pedigree and popularity in Israel, Disney's Little Mermaid cartoonized Ariel in the US, at least in some people's minds. But it was used for a male character in Shakespeare's The Tempest centuries ago.

More recently, cool short form Ari has come into prominence via the character in Entourage, plus its similarity to short, breezy Biblical names like Levi and Eli.

Though Ariel has been on the rise for boys in recent years and flat for girls, the gender divide still leans heavily toward the feminine. But with parents increasingly drawn to uncommon Biblical boy names – especially those with that strong and gentle -iel ending – we think that gap could be set to narrow in the coming years.

Ariel Rank in US Top 1000

# 519 in the US

Ariel Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 576 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Ariel

• 519 US 2023
• 576 Nameberry 2025
• 529 Future 2028
• 317 Mexico 2021
• 5 Israel 2023

20 Names Similar to Ariel

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Ariel.

• Valentino
• Santiago
• Raimond
• Loreto
• Viktor
• Joaquin
• Dmitri
• Salvatore
• Phillipe
• Kyi
• Ngaire
• Inaki
• Demarion
• Chaton
• Ricco
• Kairos
• Kasper
• Hiro
• Thor
• Chidi

Famous People Named Ariel

• Ariel biblical archangel
• Ariel Sharon (born 1928) former Israeli prime minister
• Ariel Ticona Chilean miner who was trapped in the San Jose mine
• Ariel Donida male model
• Ariel Camacho Mexican singer
• Ariel Rechtshaid American record producer
• Ariel "Rel" Schulman American actor, director and producer
• Ariel Vromen Israeli,born film director
• Ariel Marcus Rosenberg real name of singer/songwriter Ariel Pink
• Ariel Swanepoel Nicoli (born 2018) son of Candice Swanepoel and Hermann Nicoli.
• Ariel Malyar Israeli Paralympic swimmer

The name Ariel in Pop Culture

• Ariel another name for Jerusalem (Isaiah 29:1)
• Ariel "Ari" Gold character in the HBO series "Entourage"
• Ariel magicial sprite in Shakespeare's "The Tempest"
• Ferdinand Lured by Ariel 1850 painting by John Everett Millais which depicts an episode from Act I, Scene II of "The Tempest"
• Ariel antagonist in the SNES video game "Arcana"
• Ariel Maquia's adopted son in Maquia When the promised flower blooms anime

International Variations of the name Ariel

• Ariael Ariel