Girls' name · since 1980
Gaia
2,434 babies named Gaia in U.S. Social Security records since 1980, with the highest year being 2023. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #4,121 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,391 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 2,434
- born since 1980
- 2020s
- peak decade
Yes -- Gaia is the #1391 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 2,434 recorded since 1980.
Gaia has 2,434 recorded births among girls since 1980, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1391 as of the latest data, more common than 92% of girls, busiest in the 2020s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1980 to 2025.
- #4,121 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,391 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 2,434 born since 1980
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Gaia ranks #4,121 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,391 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 2,434 born since 1980, peaking in the 2020s.
- #4,121 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,391 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 2,434
- born since 1980
- 2020s
- peak decade
Gaia's 2,434 recorded births place it above 94.3% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
20 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Gaia compares
2,434 Top 20% higher than 80% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Gaia's all-time total is 6x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Gaia | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 2,434 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 219 | 21 | 19,840 |
Gaia's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Gaia's full recorded timeline at 2005, 89% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 11% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1989, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2023 peak of 219 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Gaia popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1980–2025
- Peak year (2023)
- 219
- Annual births at peak, across 46 years of records
Gaia by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (1,133 births, 47% of the file).
2020s was Gaia's strongest decade.
1,133 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 47% of all-time use.
Gaia births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1980s 32
1980s
32 births
- 1990s 116
1990s
116 births
- 2000s 317
2000s
317 births
- 2010s
2010s
836 births
- 2020s
2020s
1,133 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 1,133 births (47% of all-time use).
How Gaia compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Gaia's total volume
Gaia by state
Where Gaia concentrates geographically, total births since 1980
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 400 | 16.4% |
| #2 | New York | | 259 | 10.6% |
| #3 | Florida | | 172 | 7.1% |
| #4 | Texas | | 151 | 6.2% |
| #5 | New Jersey | | 55 | 2.3% |
| #6 | Virginia | | 49 | 2.0% |
| #7 | Massachusetts | | 44 | 1.8% |
| #8 | Georgia | | 29 | 1.2% |
400 of 2,434 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 20 reporting states.
Gaia appears in 20 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Gaia? ▼
Where does Gaia sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Gaia most popular? ▼
Where is Gaia most popular? ▼
How long has the name Gaia been used? ▼
What names are similar to Gaia? ▼
What to do with Gaia's data
- California records the most Gaias (400 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Gaia
Nearby Names Like Gaia
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Gaia
Compare Gaia side by side: Gaia vs Gail Gaia vs Gaile Gaia vs Gaila
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Gaia
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Gaia: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2023)
Similar record span (~45 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1980–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Gaia draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.