Meaning not yet researched.
Gail: US girls given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 12 in 2025. Its best rank was #36 in 1951.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #36 in 1951; #8,535 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Gail in 2025 was a girl.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#8,535 for US girls in 2025. Its best year was 1951, at #36.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Gail: US girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 12 girls in 2025. Peak: #36 in 1951 · most girls in one year: 9,886 (1951).
In 2025, 12 US girls were named Gail, making it the 8,535th most common girls’ name of the year, down 1,792 places from #6,743 in 2024. That is 5 fewer than the 17 girls named Gail in 2024. Its best rank for girls was #36, reached in 1951. That year also had the most girls given the name: 9,886. For comparison, it was #7,753 in 2015 and #42 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Gail in 145 years of the 146 from 1880 to 2025, starting in 1881 with 5 babies. In all, 210,698 US babies have been given the name, 96% of them girls and 4.2% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1950s, with 86,925 babies named Gail.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 168 US girls were named Gail; the busiest of those years was 2023, with 21. In 2025 that was about 1 in 133,939 of the girls in SSA’s list for the year.
Related spellings in the SSA files include Abigail (413,935 babies since 1880), Gale (32,343 babies since 1880), Gayle (66,308 babies since 1880) and Gael (49,752 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Gaile, Gayl and Gal are summarised on this page.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Wikidata records this spelling as a given name in English. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Gaile (903), Gayl (622), Gal (403), Gahel (114), Gaal (17), Gaell (12), Gayel (6).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
No nicknames listed for Gail in the open dataset we use.
Gail is listed as a nickname for Abbigail, Abbigale, Abigail, Abigale.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #8,535 | — | — |
| 2024 | 17 | #6,743 | — | — |
| 2023 | 21 | #5,818 | — | — |
| 2022 | 13 | #8,206 | — | — |
| 2021 | 20 | #6,025 | — | — |
| 2020 | 19 | #6,158 | — | — |
| 2019 | 15 | #7,480 | — | — |
| 2018 | 18 | #6,621 | — | — |
| 2017 | 13 | #8,454 | — | — |
| 2016 | 20 | #6,259 | — | — |
| 2015 | 15 | #7,753 | — | — |
| 2014 | 13 | #8,635 | — | — |
| 2013 | 24 | #5,543 | — | — |
| 2012 | 22 | #5,976 | — | — |
| 2011 | 14 | #8,341 | — | — |
| 2010 | 15 | #8,030 | — | — |
| 2009 | 19 | #6,900 | — | — |
| 2008 | 19 | #6,894 | — | — |
| 2007 | 23 | #5,958 | — | — |
| 2006 | 21 | #6,207 | — | — |
| 2005 | 24 | #5,328 | — | — |
| 2004 | 46 | #3,285 | — | — |
| 2003 | 37 | #3,757 | — | — |
| 2002 | 30 | #4,214 | — | — |
| 2001 | 28 | #4,358 | — | — |
| 2000 | 37 | #3,543 | — | — |
| 1999 | 41 | #3,158 | — | — |
| 1998 | 57 | #2,437 | — | — |
| 1997 | 58 | #2,315 | — | — |
| 1996 | 63 | #2,161 | — | — |
| 1995 | 54 | #2,400 | — | — |
| 1994 | 65 | #2,110 | — | — |
| 1993 | 77 | #1,858 | — | — |
| 1992 | 93 | #1,634 | — | — |
| 1991 | 117 | #1,378 | — | — |
| 1990 | 127 | #1,282 | — | — |
| 1989 | 131 | #1,227 | 6 | #7,296 |
| 1988 | 136 | #1,130 | 6 | #6,695 |
| 1987 | 144 | #1,065 | 8 | #5,120 |
| 1986 | 154 | #1,002 | 5 | #7,088 |
| 1985 | 194 | #838 | — | — |
| 1984 | 238 | #698 | 5 | #6,657 |
| 1983 | 275 | #627 | 6 | #5,718 |
| 1982 | 306 | #593 | 6 | #5,891 |
| 1981 | 290 | #624 | 17 | #2,710 |
| 1980 | 303 | #605 | 6 | #5,767 |
| 1979 | 350 | #536 | 13 | #3,227 |
| 1978 | 392 | #496 | 11 | #3,479 |
| 1977 | 392 | #485 | 14 | #2,958 |
| 1976 | 475 | #426 | 20 | #2,269 |
| 1975 | 560 | #370 | 26 | #1,852 |
| 1974 | 628 | #346 | 25 | #1,852 |
| 1973 | 746 | #313 | 30 | #1,597 |
| 1972 | 987 | #267 | 34 | #1,463 |
| 1971 | 1,184 | #249 | 39 | #1,359 |
| 1970 | 1,424 | #222 | 24 | #1,817 |
| 1969 | 1,562 | #202 | 37 | #1,307 |
| 1968 | 1,802 | #180 | 32 | #1,373 |
| 1967 | 2,022 | #163 | 37 | #1,236 |
| 1966 | 2,301 | #152 | 39 | #1,205 |
| 1965 | 2,859 | #134 | 38 | #1,245 |
| 1964 | 3,446 | #125 | 39 | #1,248 |
| 1963 | 4,104 | #105 | 52 | #1,061 |
| 1962 | 4,380 | #103 | 65 | #941 |
| 1961 | 4,973 | #94 | 75 | #888 |
| 1960 | 5,428 | #90 | 58 | #1,015 |
| 1959 | 6,344 | #75 | 105 | #747 |
| 1958 | 6,608 | #72 | 89 | #792 |
| 1957 | 7,952 | #54 | 103 | #740 |
| 1956 | 8,435 | #49 | 112 | #701 |
| 1955 | 8,972 | #42 | 115 | #686 |
| 1954 | 9,726 | #37 | 108 | #694 |
| 1953 | 9,585 | #39 | 155 | #576 |
| 1952 | 9,760 | #39 | 167 | #543 |
| 1951 | 9,886 | #36 | 180 | #506 |
| 1950 | 8,350 | #42 | 173 | #510 |
| 1949 | 7,225 | #51 | 210 | #457 |
| 1948 | 6,603 | #51 | 202 | #471 |
| 1947 | 7,242 | #49 | 205 | #469 |
| 1946 | 6,227 | #49 | 209 | #438 |
| 1945 | 4,832 | #52 | 167 | #459 |
| 1944 | 4,526 | #56 | 195 | #438 |
| 1943 | 4,810 | #55 | 213 | #425 |
| 1942 | 4,445 | #60 | 227 | #404 |
| 1941 | 3,609 | #68 | 199 | #414 |
| 1940 | 3,621 | #65 | 190 | #424 |
| 1939 | 3,355 | #73 | 217 | #384 |
| 1938 | 3,214 | #77 | 193 | #409 |
| 1937 | 2,635 | #99 | 218 | #371 |
| 1936 | 2,342 | #101 | 220 | #367 |
| 1935 | 1,800 | #127 | 194 | #393 |
| 1934 | 1,176 | #164 | 212 | #373 |
| 1933 | 541 | #264 | 171 | #416 |
| 1932 | 354 | #337 | 156 | #456 |
| 1931 | 239 | #415 | 135 | #494 |
| 1930 | 198 | #476 | 151 | #484 |
| 1929 | 172 | #516 | 147 | #484 |
| 1928 | 173 | #529 | 176 | #455 |
| 1927 | 186 | #515 | 122 | #560 |
| 1926 | 206 | #485 | 189 | #439 |
| 1925 | 163 | #563 | 179 | #449 |
| 1924 | 165 | #568 | 172 | #470 |
| 1923 | 154 | #582 | 208 | #417 |
| 1922 | 142 | #610 | 175 | #467 |
| 1921 | 204 | #483 | 177 | #462 |
| 1920 | 181 | #525 | 171 | #466 |
| 1919 | 184 | #494 | 176 | #445 |
| 1918 | 206 | #465 | 170 | #455 |
| 1917 | 217 | #436 | 158 | #450 |
| 1916 | 196 | #457 | 151 | #462 |
| 1915 | 135 | #552 | 143 | #459 |
| 1914 | 102 | #554 | 88 | #525 |
| 1913 | 58 | #683 | 61 | #555 |
| 1912 | 53 | #691 | 40 | #673 |
| 1911 | 32 | #769 | 23 | #657 |
| 1910 | 33 | #743 | 25 | #572 |
| 1909 | 32 | #713 | 10 | #974 |
| 1908 | 30 | #717 | 13 | #762 |
| 1907 | 35 | #634 | 19 | #568 |
| 1906 | 34 | #616 | 12 | #722 |
| 1905 | 14 | #1,030 | 8 | #955 |
| 1904 | 36 | #565 | 12 | #702 |
| 1903 | 31 | #591 | 17 | #532 |
| 1902 | 26 | #657 | 11 | #707 |
| 1901 | 25 | #638 | 12 | #616 |
| 1900 | 28 | #680 | 9 | #933 |
| 1899 | 32 | #528 | 8 | #811 |
| 1898 | 32 | #575 | 11 | #677 |
| 1897 | 32 | #524 | 6 | #991 |
| 1896 | 36 | #493 | 9 | #794 |
| 1895 | 32 | #524 | 13 | #586 |
| 1894 | 22 | #632 | 10 | #690 |
| 1893 | 31 | #493 | 13 | #552 |
| 1892 | 21 | #625 | 11 | #655 |
| 1891 | 29 | #478 | 7 | #800 |
| 1890 | 20 | #588 | — | — |
| 1889 | 19 | #592 | 6 | #916 |
| 1888 | 15 | #673 | 7 | #860 |
| 1887 | 9 | #814 | — | — |
| 1886 | 12 | #672 | 6 | #890 |
| 1885 | 17 | #528 | — | — |
| 1884 | 8 | #815 | — | — |
| 1883 | 8 | #722 | — | — |
| 1882 | 8 | #707 | 7 | #789 |
| 1881 | 5 | #869 | — | — |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).