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.

#11,662 of 45,481
all-time among boys
250
born since 1915
1940s
peak 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.

  • #11,662 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • 250 born since 1915
  • 1940s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Gailen ranks #11,662 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 250 born since 1915, peaking in the 1940s.

#11,662 of 45,481
all-time among boys
250
born since 1915
1940s
peak decade
Below the archive median
All-time archive position

Gailen's 250 recorded births place it above 74.32% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

National only
State-record footprint

No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.

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 popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1915–1996

Last recorded 1996
Peak year (1949)
13
Annual births at peak, across 82 years of records
468101214 19151926193519421948195319581996 5

Gailen popularity over time - girls

6 total births recorded since 1951 (Gailen as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 6 births
6 1951 6

Gailen by decade

1940s is the heaviest window (86 births, 34% of the file).

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

births

What this shows Peak: 1940s at 86 births (34% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

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 archive ordinal is #11,662 of 45,481 among boys' names (total births, highest first). Its last appearance in the data was 1996. 13 babies were born in 1949, its single highest year.
Where does Gailen sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Gailen ranks #11,662 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the null SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
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.

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
#9188 4,417 births
Gaines Boy
#5050 1,717 births
Gaither Boy
642 births
Gaius Boy
#3599 529 births

Compare Gailen side by side: Gailen vs Gail Gailen vs Gaige Gailen vs Gaines

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar number of total births

Nina
250 births · Peak 1969
Ulysse
250 births · Peak 1922
Everard
250 births · Peak 1920
Granvil
250 births · Peak 1918
Constantin #8971
250 births · Peak 2006
Romolo
250 births · Peak 1916
Dyke
250 births · Peak 1956
Cully
250 births · Peak 1960

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Gailen: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1915–1996 (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 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 August 2026.