Gabriela
A feminine name of Spanish and Portuguese origin meaning "God is my strength".
Name Census estimates that about 82,908 living Americans carry the first name Gabriela. It sits at #298 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gabriela today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gabriela births was 2003 (3,368 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gabriela. 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
- • Although Gabriela is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 371 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
83K
~ 1 in 4,134 Americans
Peak year
2003
3,368 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2007 SSA rank
#298
Tracked since 1903
Gender
Gender distribution for Gabriela
Out of the 85,577 babies given the name Gabriela since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Gabriela as a male name
- Ranked #6,780 in 2007
- 12 male births in 2007
- Peak: 1992 (26 births)
Gabriela as a female name
- Ranked #298 in 2024
- 1,059 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2003 (3,361 births)
Popularity
Gabriela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gabriela from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 28,606 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gabriela 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 Gabriela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gabrielas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 46 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Gabriela, while Wyoming, West Virginia, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,811 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gabriela
The name Gabriela is a feminine form of the Hebrew name Gabriel, which means "God is my strength" or "warrior of God." It originated in the Middle Ages, derived from the biblical archangel Gabriel who delivered important messages to Mary and others in the Old and New Testaments.
Gabriela first appeared as a name in medieval Europe, particularly in Spain, Italy, and Portugal. Its early roots can be traced back to the Latin name Gabriela, which was a Latinized version of the Hebrew Gabriel.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gabriela can be found in the 13th century Spanish epic poem, El Cantar de Mio Cid, where a character named Gabriela is mentioned. In the 14th century, there was a religious figure named Gabriela Mistral, a Chilean poet and educator who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1945.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Gabriela. One of the most famous was Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957), the aforementioned Chilean poet and educator who was the first Latin American to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Another prominent Gabriela was Gabriela Sabatini (born 1970), an Argentine former professional tennis player who won several Grand Slam titles and was once ranked World No. 3 in singles.
In the world of literature, Gabriela Garcia Marquez (born 1972) is a Colombian-American author known for her novels "Of Women and Salt" and "Talia."
Gabriela Cowperthwaite (born 1970) is an American filmmaker best known for directing the documentary "Blackfish," which explored the treatment of orcas in captivity.
Gabriela Montero (born 1970) is a Venezuelan classical pianist and composer, renowned for her improvisational skills and innovative approach to performance.
While its origins can be traced back to biblical times, the name Gabriela has endured throughout the centuries and has been embraced by diverse cultures, particularly in Latin America and Europe, where it continues to be a popular choice.
People
Gabriela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gabriela 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
Gabriela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gabriela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 82,908 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gabriela 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 4,134 US residents.
Is Gabriela a common name?
We classify Gabriela as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 85,577 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gabriela most popular?
The single biggest year for Gabriela was 2003, when 3,368 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gabriela is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gabriela a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Gabriela 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.