Gaetano
Gaetano was given to 27 boys in 2025, #3,978 among boys’ names; 3,861 Americans have been recorded with it since 1904 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,000 Americans named Gaetano and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (52% of everyone recorded); the median is 43 years old and half are between 23 and 59.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Gaetano by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Gaetano mean?
Wiktionary, Italian section
Gaetano is “a male given name from Latin, feminine equivalent Gaetana, equivalent to English Cajetan” Its etymology gives the sense “inhabitant of Gaeta” (gaetano).
From gaetano (“inhabitant of Gaeta”), from Latin Caiētānus. Name of an Italian saint. Compare Sicilian Caitanu.
/ɡa.eˈta.no/
Meaning: Wiktionary, Italian section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Gaetano?
#3,978 among boys’ names, 2025
Gaetano rose from #5,581 in 2015 to #3,978 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 8.3 to 15.8 per million.
87 babies in 1921, the peak
Gaetano peaked in 1921, when 87 boys were given it, #696 among boys’ names. The 27 births of 2025 are 31% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 27 | #3,978 | 0.02 |
| 2024 | 21 | #4,750 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 16 | #5,740 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 15 | #5,954 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 26 | #4,048 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 25 | #4,051 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 12 | #6,914 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 16 | #5,612 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 28 | #3,811 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 26 | #4,028 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (121)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 16 | #5,581 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 23 | #4,301 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 22 | #4,372 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 34 | #3,252 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 18 | #5,048 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 15 | #5,828 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 21 | #4,635 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 23 | #4,301 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 21 | #4,541 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 25 | #3,925 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 29 | #3,402 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 27 | #3,483 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 27 | #3,387 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 28 | #3,208 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 28 | #3,167 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 28 | #3,099 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 25 | #3,207 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 34 | #2,512 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 28 | #2,778 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 28 | #2,695 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 25 | #2,865 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 24 | #2,972 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 36 | #2,172 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 20 | #3,251 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 26 | #2,623 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 21 | #2,993 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 33 | #2,116 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 19 | #2,883 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 28 | #2,137 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 29 | #2,021 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 23 | #2,316 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 30 | #1,856 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 23 | #2,232 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 30 | #1,870 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 29 | #1,913 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 31 | #1,828 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 33 | #1,730 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 30 | #1,767 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 24 | #2,028 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 15 | #2,746 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 32 | #1,600 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 47 | #1,222 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 36 | #1,412 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 37 | #1,396 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 49 | #1,170 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 48 | #1,197 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 46 | #1,156 | 0.03 |
| 1968 | 35 | #1,294 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 30 | #1,392 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 41 | #1,170 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 43 | #1,149 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 39 | #1,246 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 39 | #1,239 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 30 | #1,436 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 31 | #1,446 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 25 | #1,633 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 23 | #1,679 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 31 | #1,406 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 24 | #1,646 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 27 | #1,517 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 17 | #1,922 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 25 | #1,534 | 0.01 |
| 1953 | 24 | #1,559 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 34 | #1,275 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 17 | #1,860 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 14 | #2,060 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 27 | #1,415 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 16 | #1,901 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 23 | #1,569 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 19 | #1,659 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 19 | #1,548 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 20 | #1,546 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 20 | #1,599 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 30 | #1,283 | 0.02 |
| 1941 | 25 | #1,345 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 22 | #1,447 | 0.02 |
| 1939 | 32 | #1,152 | 0.03 |
| 1938 | 31 | #1,179 | 0.03 |
| 1937 | 23 | #1,424 | 0.02 |
| 1936 | 35 | #1,106 | 0.03 |
| 1935 | 29 | #1,258 | 0.03 |
| 1934 | 29 | #1,253 | 0.03 |
| 1933 | 28 | #1,260 | 0.03 |
| 1932 | 30 | #1,241 | 0.03 |
| 1931 | 37 | #1,115 | 0.04 |
| 1930 | 42 | #1,073 | 0.04 |
| 1929 | 56 | #892 | 0.05 |
| 1928 | 65 | #816 | 0.06 |
| 1927 | 64 | #842 | 0.06 |
| 1926 | 56 | #898 | 0.05 |
| 1925 | 47 | #1,002 | 0.04 |
| 1924 | 60 | #902 | 0.05 |
| 1923 | 76 | #752 | 0.07 |
| 1922 | 70 | #803 | 0.06 |
| 1921 | 87 | #696 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 77 | #751 | 0.07 |
| 1919 | 51 | #941 | 0.05 |
| 1918 | 79 | #714 | 0.08 |
| 1917 | 77 | #688 | 0.08 |
| 1916 | 76 | #682 | 0.09 |
| 1915 | 72 | #686 | 0.08 |
| 1914 | 64 | #636 | 0.10 |
| 1913 | 46 | #661 | 0.09 |
| 1912 | 43 | #641 | 0.10 |
| 1911 | 18 | #771 | 0.08 |
| 1910 | 20 | #662 | 0.10 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,196 | 0.04 |
| 1908 | 9 | #978 | 0.06 |
| 1907 | 8 | #1,034 | 0.05 |
| 1905 | 5 | #1,305 | 0.04 |
| 1904 | 6 | #1,118 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Gaetano a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Gaetano has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 121 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Gaetano: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Gaetano, and how old are they?
2,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 52% of the 3,861 Americans ever recorded as Gaetano. The median Gaetano alive today is 43 years old; half are between 23 and 59.
The 2020 Census counted 3,249 people named Gaetano (6 women and girls, 3,243 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,048 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.6 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 90 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 329 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 507 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 403 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 404 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 271 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Gaetano born?
The states with the most babies named Gaetano are New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey, with 85% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Massachusetts and New Jersey are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,450 | not ranked | 4.5× |
| Massachusetts | 216 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| New Jersey | 202 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 167 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Connecticut | 50 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| California | 43 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Illinois | 33 | #1,357 | 0.2× |
| Rhode Island | 27 | not ranked | 1.3× |
Where Gaetano is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Gaetano is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 4.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Gaetano with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Gaetano
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Gaetano and names like it
- Compare Gaetano and SilvioBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sGaetano peaked in 1921.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Gaetano since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Gaetano: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Gaetano.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Gaetano alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with GMost given first.