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.

# 519 in the US

Ariel Rank in US Top 1000

# 902 on Nameberry

Ariel Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Ariel Popularity

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 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"