Lael
Lael is given to both girls and boys: 99 girls and 156 boys were given it in 2025 (#1,952 among girls’ names and #1,264 among boys’, #1,894 among all names counting both); 3,526 Americans have been recorded with it since 1895 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Boys have outnumbered girls among babies named Lael every year since 2024.
An estimated 3,150 Americans named Lael and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (89% of everyone recorded); the median is 16 years old and half are between 6 and 41.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lael by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Lael?
#1,952 among girls’ names, 2025
Lael rose from #2,394 in 2015 to #1,952 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 43.1 to 61.6 per million.
255 babies in 2025, the peak
Lael peaked in 2025, when 255 babies were given it (99 girls, #1,952 among girls’ names). In 2024 it went to 65 girls.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 99 | #1,952 | 156 | #1,264 |
| 2024 | 65 | #2,682 | 123 | #1,479 |
| 2023 | 54 | #3,065 | 41 | #3,036 |
| 2022 | 54 | #3,058 | 31 | #3,661 |
| 2021 | 53 | #3,093 | 28 | #3,879 |
| 2020 | 51 | #3,122 | 40 | #2,958 |
| 2019 | 40 | #3,755 | 52 | #2,538 |
| 2018 | 46 | #3,422 | 30 | #3,662 |
| 2017 | 59 | #2,858 | 22 | #4,537 |
| 2016 | 59 | #2,886 | 33 | #3,402 |
Every recorded year (110)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 77 | #2,394 | 33 | #3,403 |
| 2014 | 59 | #2,905 | 23 | #4,330 |
| 2013 | 45 | #3,499 | 21 | #4,550 |
| 2012 | 69 | #2,612 | 22 | #4,473 |
| 2011 | 57 | #3,001 | 23 | #4,297 |
| 2010 | 49 | #3,343 | 14 | #6,231 |
| 2009 | 40 | #3,918 | 15 | #5,974 |
| 2008 | 44 | #3,677 | 19 | #4,985 |
| 2007 | 34 | #4,423 | 16 | #5,574 |
| 2006 | 42 | #3,706 | 8 | #9,224 |
| 2005 | 40 | #3,684 | 11 | #6,900 |
| 2004 | 30 | #4,550 | 19 | #4,517 |
| 2003 | 30 | #4,362 | 12 | #6,090 |
| 2002 | 25 | #4,832 | 7 | #8,995 |
| 2001 | 25 | #4,767 | 15 | #5,033 |
| 2000 | 27 | #4,477 | 5 | #11,423 |
| 1999 | 19 | #5,547 | 9 | #6,862 |
| 1998 | 17 | #5,946 | 9 | #6,609 |
| 1997 | 20 | #5,127 | 6 | #8,786 |
| 1996 | 15 | #6,226 | 10 | #5,789 |
| 1995 | 14 | #6,447 | under 5 | |
| 1994 | 15 | #6,167 | 11 | #5,290 |
| 1993 | 10 | #8,393 | 10 | #5,602 |
| 1992 | 17 | #5,601 | 6 | #8,008 |
| 1991 | 14 | #6,431 | under 5 | |
| 1990 | 9 | #8,877 | under 5 | |
| 1989 | 14 | #5,989 | under 5 | |
| 1988 | 9 | #8,057 | 5 | #7,981 |
| 1987 | 12 | #6,142 | 6 | #6,583 |
| 1986 | 14 | #5,319 | under 5 | |
| 1985 | 21 | #3,923 | 10 | #4,214 |
| 1984 | 11 | #6,097 | 8 | #4,790 |
| 1983 | 16 | #4,575 | 9 | #4,338 |
| 1982 | 23 | #3,589 | 10 | #4,106 |
| 1981 | 16 | #4,624 | 7 | #5,239 |
| 1980 | 20 | #3,920 | 11 | #3,745 |
| 1979 | 13 | #5,254 | 10 | #3,960 |
| 1978 | 12 | #5,367 | 17 | #2,618 |
| 1977 | 21 | #3,546 | 26 | #1,930 |
| 1976 | 13 | #4,762 | 14 | #2,898 |
| 1975 | 23 | #3,105 | 13 | #3,006 |
| 1974 | 15 | #4,129 | 19 | #2,237 |
| 1973 | 11 | #5,042 | 14 | #2,660 |
| 1972 | 10 | #5,280 | 15 | #2,487 |
| 1971 | 19 | #3,434 | 12 | #2,905 |
| 1970 | 7 | #6,691 | 15 | #2,454 |
| 1969 | 13 | #4,063 | 6 | #4,193 |
| 1968 | 10 | #4,632 | under 5 | |
| 1967 | 10 | #4,458 | under 5 | |
| 1966 | 14 | #3,460 | under 5 | |
| 1965 | 10 | #4,347 | 6 | #3,739 |
| 1964 | 13 | #3,794 | 6 | #3,847 |
| 1963 | 9 | #4,710 | under 5 | |
| 1962 | 15 | #3,359 | 5 | #4,376 |
| 1961 | 15 | #3,397 | under 5 | |
| 1960 | 15 | #3,279 | under 5 | |
| 1959 | 15 | #3,178 | 5 | #4,304 |
| 1958 | 21 | #2,535 | under 5 | |
| 1957 | 15 | #3,089 | under 5 | |
| 1956 | 25 | #2,219 | under 5 | |
| 1955 | 17 | #2,779 | under 5 | |
| 1954 | 27 | #2,050 | under 5 | |
| 1953 | 13 | #3,196 | under 5 | |
| 1952 | 12 | #3,293 | under 5 | |
| 1951 | 19 | #2,349 | under 5 | |
| 1950 | 10 | #3,558 | 6 | #3,515 |
| 1949 | 20 | #2,244 | 5 | #3,986 |
| 1948 | 7 | #4,407 | under 5 | |
| 1947 | 12 | #3,150 | under 5 | |
| 1946 | 13 | #2,809 | under 5 | |
| 1945 | 15 | #2,288 | under 5 | |
| 1944 | 9 | #3,247 | 5 | #3,689 |
| 1943 | 14 | #2,495 | 5 | #3,808 |
| 1942 | 18 | #2,079 | under 5 | |
| 1941 | 5 | #4,740 | under 5 | |
| 1940 | 12 | #2,495 | under 5 | |
| 1939 | 8 | #3,288 | under 5 | |
| 1938 | 7 | #3,676 | under 5 | |
| 1937 | 9 | #3,052 | under 5 | |
| 1936 | 17 | #1,918 | under 5 | |
| 1935 | 10 | #2,836 | under 5 | |
| 1934 | 14 | #2,236 | under 5 | |
| 1933 | 21 | #1,688 | under 5 | |
| 1932 | 19 | #1,843 | under 5 | |
| 1931 | 19 | #1,833 | 6 | #3,593 |
| 1930 | 10 | #2,954 | under 5 | |
| 1929 | 6 | #4,332 | under 5 | |
| 1928 | 8 | #3,604 | under 5 | |
| 1927 | 5 | #5,221 | 5 | #4,508 |
| 1926 | 7 | #4,084 | under 5 | |
| 1925 | 5 | #5,401 | under 5 | |
| 1924 | 6 | #4,759 | under 5 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 5 | #4,662 | |
| 1921 | 7 | #4,239 | under 5 | |
| 1920 | 6 | #4,669 | under 5 | |
| 1919 | 7 | #4,048 | under 5 | |
| 1918 | 5 | #5,216 | under 5 | |
| 1917 | 5 | #4,952 | under 5 | |
| 1916 | 8 | #3,415 | under 5 | |
| 1895 | 5 | #1,716 | under 5 |
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 Lael a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 3,526 Americans recorded as Lael, 67% are girls and 33% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Lael: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lael, and how old are they?
3,150 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 89% of the 3,526 Americans ever recorded as Lael. The median Lael alive today is 16 years old; half are between 6 and 41.
The 2020 Census counted 2,375 people named Lael (1,670 women and girls, 705 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,462 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 69 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 247 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 366 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 311 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 769 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,390 |
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 Lael born?
The states with the most babies named Lael are Texas, New York and Florida, with 47% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 37 | #1,756 | 0.4× |
| New York | 19 | #1,597 | 0.3× |
| Florida | 19 | #1,382 | 0.4× |
| California | 16 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Maryland | 12 | #791 | 0.5× |
| Pennsylvania | 11 | #1,514 | 0.1× |
| Virginia | 10 | #1,293 | 0.1× |
| Georgia | 7 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Massachusetts | 7 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| North Carolina | 6 | not ranked | 0.1× |
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 Lael 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 4,343 babies since 1880, Lael is the most given (81% of them). In 2025 it was given to 255 of their 304 babies (84%), 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 Lael
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 Lael and names like it
- Compare Lael and LayalBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sLael peaked in 2025.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lael since 1910.
- The top names of 2025The year the most babies were named Lael.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Lael alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with LMost given first.