Namesakes
Argentine Presidents:
1 president
Jorge Rafael Videla 1976-1981 
Fictional Characters from Television:
1 character
Rafe Hernandez 1965 Days of Our Lives
Finnish Presidents and Prime Ministers:
2 prime ministers
(prime minister) Rafael Erich 1920-1921
(prime minister) Rafael Paasio 1966-1968; 1972
Hurricanes and Tropical Storms:
1 hurricane
Hurricane Rafael 2012
Notable Actors and Entertainers:
3 actors
Raul Julia (middle name Rafael) 1940-1994
Benicio del Toro (middle name Rafael) 1967-
Joaquin Phoenix (middle name Rafael) 1974-
Notable Athletes:
8 soccer, 1 tennis
(soccer) Rafael Márquez 1979-
(soccer) Rafael van der Vaart 1983-
(soccer) Álvaro Rafael González 1984-
(soccer) Rafinha 1985-
(tennis) Rafael Nadal 1986-
(soccer) Rubin Okotie (middle name Rafael) 1987-
(soccer) Frickson Erazo (middle name Rafael) 1988-
(soccer) Rafael da Silva 1990-
(soccer) Rafa Silva 1993-
Notable Politicians and Statespeople:
1 politician
Ted Cruz (a.k.a. Rafael) 1970-
Notable Writers:
1 author
Rafael Sabatini 1875-1950
Olympic Medalists:
6 bronze, 1 gold, 1 silver
(bronze) Adesio Lombardo (middle name Rafael) 1952 basketball
(bronze) Rafael Cañizares Poey 1972 basketball
(bronze) Rafael Vidal Castro 1984 swimming - 200 m butterfly
(gold) Candra Wijaya (a.k.a. Rafael) 2000 badminton doubles
(bronze) Rafael Silva 2012 judo
(silver) Rafael da Silva 2012 football
(bronze) Jose Díaz (middle name Rafael) 2020 baseball
(bronze) Darío Álvarez (middle name Rafael) 2020 baseball
Oscar Award Winners:
2 actors
(actor) Benicio del Toro (middle name Rafael) 2001 Traffic
(actor) Joaquin Phoenix (middle name Rafael) 2020 Joker
Other Leaders:
4 presidents
President Rafael Núñez 1880-1882; 1884-1894 Colombia
President Rafael Reyes 1904-1909 Colombia
President Ramón González Valencia (middle name Rafael) 1909-1910 Colombia
President Hugo Chávez (middle name Rafael) 1999-2002; 2002-2013 Venezuela
Saints:
2 saints
Saint Rafael Guízar y Valencia 1878-1938
Saint Rafael Arnáiz Barón 1911-1938