Unisex name · since 1947
Gal
255 babies named Gal in U.S. Social Security records since 1947, with the highest year being 2022. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #17,409 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #9,558 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 255
- born since 1947
- 2020s
- peak decade
255 babies have been named Gal since 1947, making it today's #9558 unisex name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Gal has been recorded 255 times among girls since 1947, currently ranked #9558 nationally and more common than 45% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 2020s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1947 to 2025.
- #17,409 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #9,558 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 255 born since 1947
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Gal ranks #17,409 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #9,558 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 255 born since 1947, peaking in the 2020s.
- #17,409 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #9,558 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 255
- born since 1947
- 2020s
- peak decade
Gal's 255 recorded births place it above 75.89% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
The state file records this name in 2 jurisdictions, led by New York.
How Gal compares
255 42nd percentile among 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
Gal's all-time total is 32% below the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Gal | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 255 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 16 | 21 | 19,840 |
Gal's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Gal splits its recorded history at 1996: 60% of all births land in the more recent half, 40% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1947 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2022 peak of 16 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Gal popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1947–2025
- Peak year (2022)
- 16
- Annual births at peak, across 79 years of records
Gal popularity over time - boys
148 total births recorded since 1984 (Gal as boys' name)
Gal by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (73 births, 29% of the file).
2020s was Gal's strongest decade.
73 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 29% of all-time use.
Gal births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1940s 10
1940s
10 births
- 1950s
1950s
34 births
- 1960s 5
1960s
5 births
- 1980s 22
1980s
22 births
- 1990s
1990s
43 births
- 2000s
2000s
34 births
- 2010s
2010s
34 births
- 2020s
2020s
73 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 73 births (29% of all-time use).
Gal by state
Where Gal concentrates geographically, total births since 1947
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 10 | 3.9% |
| #2 | California | | 5 | 2.0% |
10 of 255 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 2 reporting states.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Gal's data
- New York records the most Gals (10 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Gal
Nearby Names Like Gal
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Gal
Compare Gal side by side: Gal vs Gale Gal vs Galilea Gal vs Gala
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Gal
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Gal: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2022)
Similar record span (~78 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, 1947–2025 (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 Gal 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.