Galen
Galen was given to 23 boys in 2025, #4,441 among boys’ names; 17,060 Americans have been recorded with it since 1889 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 11,100 Americans named Galen and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (65% of everyone recorded); the median is 53 years old and half are between 35 and 69.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Galen by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Galen mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Galen is “a male given name from Ancient Greek, of mostly American usage.” Its etymology gives the sense “calm, tranquillity” (γαλήνη).
From Middle English Galen, from Latin Galēnus, from Ancient Greek Γαληνός (Galēnós), from γαλήνη (galḗnē, “calm, tranquillity”).
/ˈɡeɪlən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Galen?
#4,441 among boys’ names, 2025
Galen fell from #2,618 in 2015 to #4,441 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 24.5 to 13.5 per million.
441 babies in 1949, the peak
Galen peaked in 1949, when 441 babies were given it (433 boys, #329 among boys’ names). The 23 births of 2025 are 5% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 23 | #4,441 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 47 | #2,764 | 0.03 |
| 2023 | 38 | #3,192 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 51 | #2,626 | 0.03 |
| 2021 | 45 | #2,788 | 0.03 |
| 2020 | 45 | #2,737 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 49 | #2,633 | 0.03 |
| 2018 | 57 | #2,328 | 0.03 |
| 2017 | 55 | #2,357 | 0.03 |
| 2016 | 32 | #3,466 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (128)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 47 | #2,618 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 62 | #2,182 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 50 | #2,474 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 55 | #2,338 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 31 | #3,459 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 59 | #2,217 | 0.03 |
| 2009 | 51 | #2,495 | 0.03 |
| 2008 | 57 | #2,301 | 0.03 |
| 2007 | 46 | #2,661 | 0.02 |
| 2006 | 66 | #2,020 | 0.03 |
| 2005 | 80 | #1,676 | 0.04 |
| 2004 | 85 | #1,557 | 0.04 |
| 2003 | 93 | #1,420 | 0.05 |
| 2002 | 103 | #1,300 | 0.05 |
| 2001 | 94 | #1,357 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 116 | #1,177 | 0.06 |
| 1999 | 122 | #1,095 | 0.06 |
| 1998 | 133 | #1,016 | 0.07 |
| 1997 | 114 | #1,109 | 0.06 |
| 1996 | 143 | #915 | 0.08 |
| 1995 | 152 | #885 | 0.08 |
| 1994 | 151 | #878 | 0.08 |
| 1993 | 152 | #856 | 0.08 |
| 1992 | 148 | #864 | 0.07 |
| 1991 | 156 | #825 | 0.08 |
| 1990 | 176 | #762 | 0.09 |
| 1989 | 161 | #779 | 0.08 |
| 1988 | 147 | #777 | 0.08 |
| 1987 | 164 | #712 | 0.09 |
| 1986 | 184 | #661 | 0.10 |
| 1985 | 159 | #699 | 0.09 |
| 1984 | 151 | #710 | 0.08 |
| 1983 | 143 | #723 | 0.08 |
| 1982 | 126 | #784 | 0.07 |
| 1981 | 150 | #707 | 0.08 |
| 1980 | 157 | #694 | 0.09 |
| 1979 | 152 | #693 | 0.09 |
| 1978 | 154 | #675 | 0.09 |
| 1977 | 135 | #738 | 0.08 |
| 1976 | 138 | #713 | 0.09 |
| 1975 | 183 | #596 | 0.12 |
| 1974 | 138 | #698 | 0.09 |
| 1973 | 154 | #642 | 0.10 |
| 1972 | 185 | #585 | 0.11 |
| 1971 | 191 | #603 | 0.11 |
| 1970 | 212 | #557 | 0.11 |
| 1969 | 187 | #575 | 0.10 |
| 1968 | 182 | #564 | 0.10 |
| 1967 | 174 | #570 | 0.10 |
| 1966 | 173 | #575 | 0.10 |
| 1965 | 164 | #594 | 0.09 |
| 1964 | 215 | #535 | 0.11 |
| 1963 | 201 | #558 | 0.10 |
| 1962 | 213 | #545 | 0.10 |
| 1961 | 228 | #525 | 0.11 |
| 1960 | 220 | #533 | 0.10 |
| 1959 | 246 | #500 | 0.12 |
| 1958 | 245 | #495 | 0.12 |
| 1957 | 262 | #480 | 0.12 |
| 1956 | 284 | #448 | 0.13 |
| 1955 | 293 | #427 | 0.14 |
| 1954 | 307 | #408 | 0.15 |
| 1953 | 293 | #407 | 0.15 |
| 1952 | 304 | #394 | 0.16 |
| 1951 | 378 | #351 | 0.20 |
| 1950 | 326 | #373 | 0.18 |
| 1949 | 433 | #329 | 0.24 |
| 1948 | 342 | #367 | 0.19 |
| 1947 | 299 | #398 | 0.16 |
| 1946 | 210 | #436 | 0.13 |
| 1945 | 198 | #424 | 0.15 |
| 1944 | 214 | #411 | 0.16 |
| 1943 | 204 | #441 | 0.14 |
| 1942 | 204 | #431 | 0.15 |
| 1941 | 171 | #450 | 0.14 |
| 1940 | 170 | #444 | 0.15 |
| 1939 | 169 | #439 | 0.15 |
| 1938 | 157 | #462 | 0.14 |
| 1937 | 138 | #485 | 0.13 |
| 1936 | 139 | #479 | 0.13 |
| 1935 | 140 | #480 | 0.13 |
| 1934 | 136 | #493 | 0.13 |
| 1933 | 128 | #497 | 0.13 |
| 1932 | 122 | #528 | 0.12 |
| 1931 | 119 | #534 | 0.11 |
| 1930 | 104 | #595 | 0.09 |
| 1929 | 122 | #530 | 0.11 |
| 1928 | 101 | #609 | 0.09 |
| 1927 | 124 | #554 | 0.11 |
| 1926 | 103 | #619 | 0.09 |
| 1925 | 110 | #601 | 0.10 |
| 1924 | 99 | #645 | 0.09 |
| 1923 | 114 | #591 | 0.10 |
| 1922 | 90 | #688 | 0.08 |
| 1921 | 95 | #666 | 0.09 |
| 1920 | 81 | #723 | 0.08 |
| 1919 | 79 | #709 | 0.08 |
| 1918 | 72 | #768 | 0.07 |
| 1917 | 69 | #754 | 0.07 |
| 1916 | 75 | #686 | 0.08 |
| 1915 | 62 | #763 | 0.07 |
| 1914 | 61 | #646 | 0.09 |
| 1913 | 41 | #725 | 0.08 |
| 1912 | 39 | #682 | 0.09 |
| 1911 | 9 | #1,224 | 0.04 |
| 1910 | 12 | #948 | 0.06 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,197 | 0.04 |
| 1908 | 8 | #1,051 | 0.05 |
| 1907 | 9 | #953 | 0.06 |
| 1906 | 10 | #816 | 0.08 |
| 1905 | 6 | #1,148 | 0.05 |
| 1904 | 5 | #1,274 | 0.04 |
| 1900 | 7 | #1,088 | 0.05 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,102 | 0.05 |
| 1898 | 6 | #1,053 | 0.05 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,158 | 0.04 |
| 1895 | 8 | #822 | 0.07 |
| 1889 | 6 | #917 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Galen a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 17,060 Americans recorded as Galen, 3% are girls and 97% boys. In 2025 it went to 23 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 Galen: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Galen, and how old are they?
11,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 65% of the 17,060 Americans ever recorded as Galen. The median Galen alive today is 53 years old; half are between 35 and 69.
The 2020 Census counted 11,997 people named Galen (551 women and girls, 11,446 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 11,984 born in the U.S. The Census count matches that prediction to within 1%.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 628 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 3,530 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,460 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,550 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,360 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 597 |
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 Galen born?
The states with the most babies named Galen are Pennsylvania, California and Kansas, with 35% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Kansas is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 1,427 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| California | 1,243 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Kansas | 1,048 | not ranked | 5.1× |
| Ohio | 816 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Iowa | 682 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| Texas | 634 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Illinois | 478 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Minnesota | 447 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Missouri | 429 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Maine | 372 | not ranked | 3.7× |
Where Galen is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Galen is most over-represented in Kansas: since 1910 it was given 5.1 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 boys’ 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 Galen 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 24,408 babies since 1880, Galen is the most given (70% of them). In 2025 it was given to 23 of their 23 babies (100%), again the most given.
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 Galen
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 Galen and names like it
- Compare Galen and GaylonBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sGalen peaked in 1949.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Galen since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Galen: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1949The year the most babies were named Galen.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Galen alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with GMost given first.