Total births
250
Boys' name · since 1915
Gailen
Gailen has 250 recorded births since 1915 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1949 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- 250
- total births
- 1915–1996
- years on record
- 1940s
- peak decade
- 34%
- born in that decade
Gailen is not among the current top-ranked boys names; 250 have been recorded since 1915.
Gailen has 250 recorded births among boys since 1915, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used boys names, busiest in the 1940s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1915 to 1996.
- 250 total births
- 1915–1996 years on record
- 1940s peak decade
- 34% born in that decade
Data updated Jul 2026
The verdict
250 boys have been named Gailen since 1915, peaking in the 1940s, last recorded in 1996.
- 250
- total births
- 1915–1996
- years on record
- 1940s
- peak decade
- 34%
- born in that decade
1940s
Peak decade
34% of everyone ever named Gailen was born in this single decade.
1949
Single peak year
13 babies were named Gailen in 1949 - its busiest year on record.
Gailen's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Gailen splits its recorded history at 1944: 54% of all births land in the more recent half, 46% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1917 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1949 peak of 13 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Gailen at a glance
Last recorded 1996Peak year
1949
Current rank
Unranked
Active since
1915
Gailen popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1915–1996
- Peak year (1949)
- 13
- Annual births at peak, across 82 years of records
Gailen popularity over time - girls
6 total births recorded since 1951 (Gailen as girls' name)
Gailen by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1940s was Gailen's strongest decade.
86 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 34% of all-time use.
Gailen births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 16
1910s
16 births
- 1920s 27
1920s
27 births
- 1930s
1930s
36 births
- 1940s
1940s
86 births
- 1950s
1950s
70 births
- 1960s 10
1960s
10 births
- 1990s 5
1990s
5 births
What this shows Peak: 1940s at 86 births (34% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Gailen? ▼
Gailen has been given to 250 babies in the U.S. since 1915, according to SSA data. Its last appearance in the data was 1996. 13 babies were born in 1949, its single highest year.
When was Gailen most popular? ▼
Gailen was most popular in the 1940s decade with 86 total births. The single peak year was 1949.
How long has the name Gailen been used? ▼
Records for Gailen go back to 1915, giving 82 years of history through 1996.
What names are similar to Gailen? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Gail, Gaige, Gaines, Gaither, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.
What to do with Gailen's data
- Gailen's decade-level peak was the 1940s (86 total births); usage has since declined to 5 in the 1990s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Gailen
Nearby Names Like Gailen
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Gailen
Gail Boy
8,952 births
Gaige Boy
#6629 4,417 births
Gaines Boy
#6485 1,717 births
Gaither Boy
642 births
Gaius Boy
#3624 529 births
Compare Gailen side by side: Gailen vs Gail Gailen vs Gaige Gailen vs Gaines
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Data Sources
Data as of July 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, 1915–1996 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Gailen: Baby Name Since 1915 - 250 Births, Peak 1949." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/gailen. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 Gailen 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 July 2026.