Top 50 US name Boys' name Peak 2008 389,106 births

Gabriel — #43 US boys' name

389,106 babies named Gabriel in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2008. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s1471890s1441900s2341910s13351920s22011930s18391940s20391950s32041960s61621970s243951980s323211990s548132000s1198272010s1055842020s34861
#43
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99.7% of names given to boys today.

2000s
Peak decade

31% of everyone ever named Gabriel was born in this single decade.

2008
Single peak year

13,040 babies were named Gabriel in 2008 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Gabriel

The Social Security Administration has registered 389,106 babies named Gabriel between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Gabriel currently holds the #43 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2008, when 13,040 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Gabriel performed strongest in the 2000s, accumulating 119,827 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Gabriel shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 65,989 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Florida. In total, SSA state-level files list Gabriel in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Gabriel in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 389,106 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Gabriel at a glance

Top 100 boys' name

Total births

389,106

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

2008

13,040 births that year

Strongest decade: 2000s

Current rank

#43

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Gabriel popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 100 boys' name
Peak year (2008)
13,040
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-5,00005,00010,00015,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 15

Gabriel popularity over time — girls

6,839 total births recorded since 1910 (Gabriel as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 6,839 births
-1000100200300400 202420122000198819761964194319161910 5

Gabriel by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 2000s
Peak decade
2000s
119,827 births that decade — 31% of Gabriel's all-time total
1880s1471890s1441900s2341910s13351920s22011930s18391940s20391950s32041960s61621970s243951980s323211990s548132000s1198272010s1055842020s34861

Gabriel by state

Where Gabriel concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Gabriel
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
65,989 17.0%
#2 Texas
43,971 11.3%
#3 Florida
23,622 6.1%
#4 New York
23,512 6.0%
#5 Illinois
13,983 3.6%
#6 Arizona
12,324 3.2%
#7 Pennsylvania
11,890 3.1%
#8 Ohio
11,730 3.0%
California share of Gabriel's total US births 17.0%
Even split

65,989 of 389,106 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Gabriel appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Gabriel?
389,106 babies have been named Gabriel since 1880. It currently ranks #43 among boys. The peak year was 2008 with 13,040 births.
When was Gabriel most popular?
Gabriel was most popular in the 2000s decade with 119,827 total births. The single peak year was 2008.
Where is Gabriel most popular?
The top states for the name Gabriel are California (65,989 births), Texas (43,971 births), Florida (23,622 births).
How long has the name Gabriel been used?
Gabriel has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Gabriel?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Gabe, Gabino, Gabrial, Gabriele, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Gabriel

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.