Gaege
A variant spelling of the English surname meaning "gauge, measure".
Name Census estimates that about 65 living Americans carry the first name Gaege. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gaege today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gaege births was 2012 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gaege. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gaege. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
65
~ 1 in 5,273,144 Americans
Peak year
2012
8 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2013 SSA rank
#12,751
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Gaege: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gaege from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 36 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Gaege remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gaege 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 Gaege during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gaege
The name Gaege has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the 6th century. It is derived from the Old English word "gæge," which means "to move swiftly or to hurry." This name was commonly used among the Anglo-Saxon tribes who inhabited the British Isles during that period.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Gaege can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record compiled in the late 9th century. The chronicle mentions a warrior named Gaege who fought alongside King Alfred the Great against the Danish invaders.
In the 11th century, a monk named Gaege is mentioned in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and properties in England. This Gaege was a member of the Benedictine monastery in Gloucestershire.
During the Middle Ages, the name Gaege was relatively uncommon but still in use. One notable bearer of this name was Gaege de Montfort, a knight who fought in the Third Crusade under King Richard the Lionheart in the late 12th century.
In the 16th century, a British explorer named Gaege Raleigh accompanied Sir Walter Raleigh on his expeditions to the New World. Raleigh was born in 1580 and is known for establishing the first English settlement in North America, on Roanoke Island.
Another historical figure with the name Gaege was Gaege Cromwell, a distant relative of Oliver Cromwell. Gaege Cromwell was a member of the Roundhead army during the English Civil War in the 17th century, and he fought in several major battles against the Royalists.
While the name Gaege has remained relatively rare throughout history, it has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, ranging from warriors and explorers to religious figures and soldiers. Despite its ancient origins, the name continues to be used today, albeit infrequently.
People
Gaege + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gaege 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
Gaege: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gaege?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 65 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gaege 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 5,273,144 US residents.
Is Gaege a common name?
We classify Gaege as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 66 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gaege most popular?
The single biggest year for Gaege was 2012, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gaege is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gaege in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gaege a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gaege in the SSA data are male. 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.
Is Gaege still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gaege in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gaege can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Gaege?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Gaege at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.