Gale
Gale was last recorded in 2025, when 13 babies were given it; 32,343 Americans have been recorded with it between 1883 and 2025 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 18,600 Americans named Gale and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (57% of everyone recorded); the median is 71 years old and half are between 66 and 77.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Gale by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Gale mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Gale is “a unisex given name.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Gale?
Unranked in 2025
Its last girls’ rank on record is #15,980, in 2023; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
1,364 babies in 1957, the peak
Gale peaked in 1957, when 1,364 babies were given it (1,210 girls, #244 among girls’ names). The 13 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | under 5 | 13 | #6,577 | |
| 2024 | under 5 | 13 | #6,578 | |
| 2023 | 5 | #15,980 | 15 | #6,023 |
| 2022 | under 5 | 6 | #11,321 | |
| 2020 | under 5 | 7 | #9,898 | |
| 2019 | 7 | #12,897 | 7 | #10,089 |
| 2018 | under 5 | 14 | #6,132 | |
| 2017 | 5 | #16,704 | 10 | #7,769 |
| 2016 | under 5 | 8 | #9,115 | |
| 2015 | under 5 | 8 | #9,011 |
Every recorded year (128)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | under 5 | 9 | #8,358 | |
| 2013 | 6 | #15,252 | 8 | #9,059 |
| 2011 | 6 | #15,462 | under 5 | |
| 2008 | under 5 | 5 | #13,170 | |
| 2007 | under 5 | 7 | #10,121 | |
| 2005 | 8 | #12,201 | 5 | #12,019 |
| 2003 | under 5 | 7 | #8,972 | |
| 2002 | under 5 | 5 | #11,256 | |
| 2000 | 5 | #15,852 | 8 | #7,684 |
| 1999 | 6 | #13,234 | under 5 | |
| 1998 | 8 | #10,429 | under 5 | |
| 1997 | under 5 | 6 | #8,514 | |
| 1996 | 5 | #14,239 | 6 | #8,278 |
| 1995 | 7 | #10,892 | under 5 | |
| 1994 | 5 | #14,164 | 10 | #5,587 |
| 1993 | under 5 | 13 | #4,531 | |
| 1992 | 7 | #10,852 | 8 | #6,317 |
| 1991 | 9 | #8,826 | 10 | #5,223 |
| 1990 | 11 | #7,477 | 8 | #6,020 |
| 1989 | 9 | #8,252 | 13 | #4,105 |
| 1988 | 9 | #7,912 | 9 | #4,920 |
| 1987 | 14 | #5,387 | 9 | #4,682 |
| 1986 | 18 | #4,411 | 7 | #5,527 |
| 1985 | 21 | #3,893 | 11 | #3,884 |
| 1984 | 10 | #6,443 | 15 | #3,005 |
| 1983 | 25 | #3,268 | 11 | #3,706 |
| 1982 | 35 | #2,658 | 13 | #3,360 |
| 1981 | 19 | #4,048 | 27 | #2,010 |
| 1980 | 31 | #2,890 | 19 | #2,570 |
| 1979 | 27 | #3,097 | 19 | #2,495 |
| 1978 | 33 | #2,585 | 18 | #2,508 |
| 1977 | 36 | #2,436 | 20 | #2,297 |
| 1976 | 41 | #2,111 | 23 | #2,071 |
| 1975 | 56 | #1,692 | 31 | #1,641 |
| 1974 | 65 | #1,503 | 48 | #1,206 |
| 1973 | 71 | #1,391 | 48 | #1,191 |
| 1972 | 96 | #1,141 | 38 | #1,371 |
| 1971 | 97 | #1,182 | 63 | #1,029 |
| 1970 | 128 | #981 | 53 | #1,136 |
| 1969 | 155 | #829 | 68 | #930 |
| 1968 | 160 | #792 | 54 | #1,009 |
| 1967 | 206 | #669 | 65 | #896 |
| 1966 | 234 | #621 | 65 | #899 |
| 1965 | 234 | #640 | 81 | #821 |
| 1964 | 290 | #583 | 89 | #802 |
| 1963 | 324 | #538 | 91 | #796 |
| 1962 | 329 | #539 | 94 | #786 |
| 1961 | 478 | #446 | 101 | #769 |
| 1960 | 587 | #393 | 129 | #690 |
| 1959 | 852 | #320 | 110 | #729 |
| 1958 | 1,052 | #272 | 136 | #660 |
| 1957 | 1,210 | #244 | 154 | #618 |
| 1956 | 1,077 | #255 | 193 | #543 |
| 1955 | 1,030 | #260 | 199 | #516 |
| 1954 | 1,015 | #259 | 254 | #453 |
| 1953 | 947 | #264 | 263 | #437 |
| 1952 | 820 | #283 | 324 | #380 |
| 1951 | 814 | #275 | 329 | #374 |
| 1950 | 662 | #301 | 333 | #371 |
| 1949 | 591 | #319 | 314 | #381 |
| 1948 | 601 | #315 | 349 | #361 |
| 1947 | 796 | #271 | 377 | #352 |
| 1946 | 566 | #310 | 305 | #372 |
| 1945 | 447 | #321 | 287 | #352 |
| 1944 | 382 | #353 | 283 | #355 |
| 1943 | 425 | #348 | 302 | #351 |
| 1942 | 365 | #369 | 298 | #352 |
| 1941 | 338 | #365 | 287 | #341 |
| 1940 | 389 | #323 | 307 | #323 |
| 1939 | 288 | #394 | 291 | #321 |
| 1938 | 152 | #553 | 292 | #324 |
| 1937 | 147 | #556 | 284 | #322 |
| 1936 | 122 | #597 | 250 | #345 |
| 1935 | 122 | #587 | 244 | #351 |
| 1934 | 78 | #757 | 262 | #336 |
| 1933 | 40 | #1,105 | 213 | #372 |
| 1932 | 42 | #1,101 | 224 | #372 |
| 1931 | 20 | #1,764 | 169 | #435 |
| 1930 | 29 | #1,444 | 199 | #419 |
| 1929 | 29 | #1,427 | 168 | #456 |
| 1928 | 36 | #1,274 | 181 | #447 |
| 1927 | 38 | #1,286 | 241 | #380 |
| 1926 | 38 | #1,270 | 192 | #437 |
| 1925 | 29 | #1,546 | 190 | #435 |
| 1924 | 27 | #1,655 | 243 | #384 |
| 1923 | 32 | #1,438 | 232 | #390 |
| 1922 | 26 | #1,656 | 180 | #463 |
| 1921 | 41 | #1,210 | 205 | #423 |
| 1920 | 35 | #1,325 | 176 | #457 |
| 1919 | 25 | #1,620 | 145 | #494 |
| 1918 | 22 | #1,775 | 155 | #475 |
| 1917 | 20 | #1,799 | 123 | #521 |
| 1916 | 26 | #1,459 | 114 | #538 |
| 1915 | 23 | #1,541 | 104 | #552 |
| 1914 | 17 | #1,622 | 89 | #520 |
| 1913 | 8 | #2,411 | 59 | #568 |
| 1912 | 9 | #2,037 | 42 | #653 |
| 1911 | 11 | #1,489 | 22 | #677 |
| 1910 | 7 | #2,009 | 12 | #947 |
| 1909 | 8 | #1,655 | 22 | #561 |
| 1908 | 9 | #1,474 | 19 | #599 |
| 1907 | under 5 | 15 | #679 | |
| 1905 | 7 | #1,590 | 11 | #761 |
| 1904 | under 5 | 6 | #1,119 | |
| 1903 | under 5 | 12 | #671 | |
| 1902 | under 5 | 9 | #814 | |
| 1901 | under 5 | 11 | #653 | |
| 1900 | 10 | #1,261 | 10 | #864 |
| 1898 | under 5 | 6 | #1,052 | |
| 1897 | 6 | #1,440 | 13 | #591 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,671 | under 5 | |
| 1895 | under 5 | 6 | #1,016 | |
| 1894 | under 5 | 12 | #603 | |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,509 | 11 | #628 |
| 1890 | under 5 | 5 | #1,057 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 5 | #1,089 | |
| 1887 | under 5 | 6 | #861 | |
| 1883 | under 5 | 5 | #948 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Gale a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 32,343 Americans recorded as Gale, 62% are girls and 38% boys. Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Gale every year since 1940. In 2025 it went to 13 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Gale: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Gale, and how old are they?
18,600 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 57% of the 32,343 Americans ever recorded as Gale. The median Gale alive today is 71 years old; half are between 66 and 77.
The 2020 Census counted 22,462 people named Gale (16,711 women and girls, 5,751 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 21,358 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,460 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 13,400 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,140 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 358 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 75 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 140 |
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 Gale born?
The states with the most babies named Gale are New York, Illinois and California, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 2,306 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 2,150 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| California | 2,000 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 1,891 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 1,862 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,670 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Missouri | 964 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Wisconsin | 935 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Indiana | 903 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 826 | not ranked | 0.9× |
Where Gale is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Gale is most over-represented in Nebraska: since 1910 it was given 1.8 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 girls’ 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 Gale with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 114,246 babies since 1880, Gale is the second most given (28% of them). In 2025 it was given to 13 of their 146 babies (8.9%), the fourth most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Gale
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 Gale and names like it
- Compare Gale and GayleBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sGale peaked in 1957.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Gale since 1910.
- The top names of 1957The year the most babies were named Gale.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Gale alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with GMost given first.