Gabby
Feminine diminutive form of Gabrielle, meaning "God is my strength."
Name Census estimates that about 1,196 living Americans carry the first name Gabby. It is a predominantly female name (98.7% of registrations). The average person named Gabby today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gabby births was 2022 (67 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gabby. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Gabby is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 286,584 Americans
Peak year
2022
67 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2001 SSA rank
#3,051
Tracked since 1961
Gender
Gender distribution for Gabby
Gabby leans heavily female at 98.7% of total registrations, but 16 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Gabby as a male name
- Ranked #11,130 in 2001
- 5 male births in 2001
- Peak: 1987 (6 births)
Gabby as a female name
- Ranked #3,051 in 2024
- 53 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (67 births)
Popularity
Gabby: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gabby from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 485 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Gabby remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gabby by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gabby during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gabbys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Gabby, while Ohio, New York, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gabby
The name Gabby is a diminutive form of the name Gabrielle, which is the French feminine form of the Hebrew name Gabriel. Gabriel is derived from the Biblical Hebrew words "gever" meaning "strong man" or "warrior," and "el" meaning "God." Thus, the name Gabrielle and its shortened form Gabby can be interpreted as meaning "God is my strength" or "warrior of God."
The name Gabriel has its roots in the Old Testament, where it refers to an archangel who serves as a messenger from God to humans. The name first appears in the Book of Daniel, where the angel Gabriel is sent to interpret a vision for the prophet Daniel. Gabriel is also mentioned in the New Testament, where he delivers the news of the impending birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Gabrielle can be found in the 12th century, when it was borne by a French noblewoman named Gabrielle de Montbéliard. However, the name did not become widely popular until the 16th century, when it was used by prominent figures such as the French poet and philosopher Gabrielle d'Estrées, who was a mistress of King Henry IV of France.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures named Gabby or Gabrielle. One of the most famous is Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971), the French fashion designer who revolutionized women's clothing and introduced the iconic Chanel suit. Another prominent figure is Gabrielle "Gaby" Deslys (1884-1920), a French actress and dancer who was one of the highest-paid entertainers of her time.
In literature, the name Gabrielle appears in works such as the play "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edmond Rostand, where it is the name of the beautiful woman Cyrano loves from afar. The name is also associated with the character Gabrielle Suchon in the novel "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera.
Other notable individuals named Gabby or Gabrielle include Gabrielle "Gabby" Douglas (born 1995), an American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist, and Gabrielle Union (born 1972), an American actress and activist.
People
Gabby + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gabby as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gabby: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gabby?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,196 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gabby going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 286,584 US residents.
Is Gabby a common name?
We classify Gabby as "Rare". It ranks above 91.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,212 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gabby most popular?
The single biggest year for Gabby was 2022, when 67 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gabby is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gabby a female name?
Yes, 98.7% of people registered as Gabby in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.