I'm surprised there are people who dislike this name so strongly! Personally it's my favourite spelling of the name; I'm a big fan of Raphael in general and this spelling feels the most down-to-earth to me. And it works in a lot of cultural contexts and languages. Even though it's not the standard spelling in English or French, for example, it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb and it's intuitive to pronounce. I like Rafa as a short form.
Also Romansh: Source: "Vornamen in der Schweiz. Prénoms en Suisse. I nomi in Svizzera. Prenoms in Svizra" (1993) published by the Association of Swiss registrars Https://sursassiala.ch/2015/01/15/familienforschung/ Https://www.portraitarchiv.ch/portrait?page=290
This name has an interesting twist on the English version of “Raphael”. My thoughts are genuinely positive as I have known some very good people with such a name. This name, as someone stated in an earlier comment, is quite prevalent in Spanish speaking countries. However, despite its notable popularity, I still say it is a name that is worthy of consideration.
― Anonymous User 2/19/2019
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Rafael Guijosa Castillo is a former Spanish handball player, and current manager of Iran national handball team. When playing for the Spanish national team, he won bronze medals both in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
Rafael Pereira da Silva commonly known as Rafael or Rafael da Silva, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for French club Lyon and the Brazil national team. He normally plays as a right-back, but can also play on the right side of midfield. Footballer Fábio/Fábio da Silva is his twin brother.
This is also one of the spellings used in Irish. It's not used as a given name, as far as I know, but when referring to the archangel, the name is spelled either Rafael or Raiféal.
A famous bearer is Rafael Sabatini (1875 - 1950) a British/Italian writer of romance and adventure. His most famous book is 'Scaramouche: A Romance of the French Revolution'.
Well, I'm a Rafael. It's kind of common here in Latin America. I wish I had a slightly more original name. But it is manly, there are no similar words in Spanish like to make fun of it, perfect length, and I don't know ... it has like an Arabian spark to it. :) I say I'm ok with it.