Gaila
A feminine name of Hindi origin meaning "cow's voice".
Name Census estimates that about 377 living Americans carry the first name Gaila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gaila today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gaila births was 1954 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gaila. 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
- • The typical person named Gaila is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Gailas were born before 1968.
People living today
377
~ 1 in 909,163 Americans
Peak year
1954
31 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1982 SSA rank
#11,034
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Gaila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gaila from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 209 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gaila 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 Gaila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gailas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Gaila
The name Gaila finds its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient language of the Indian subcontinent. Derived from the Sanskrit word "gail" meaning "singer" or "songstress," the name Gaila was borne by several historical figures in ancient India.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gaila can be found in the Mahabharata, a revered Sanskrit epic composed between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE. In this text, Gaila was a skilled musician and dancer who performed at the court of the Kuru kingdom.
During the Gupta Empire (320-550 CE), a period regarded as the golden age of Indian culture, a renowned poetess known as Gaila Devi flourished. Her works, renowned for their lyrical beauty and vivid imagery, were widely celebrated across the Indian subcontinent.
In the 7th century CE, Gaila was the name of a princess from the Chalukya dynasty, which ruled over parts of present-day Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Historical records indicate that she was a patron of the arts and a skilled dancer herself.
Traveling further west, the name Gaila also found its way into ancient Persia (modern-day Iran). In the 10th century, a Persian scholar and astronomer named Gaila ibn Abi Gaila made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and astronomical calculations.
Another notable figure bearing the name Gaila was a 12th-century Indian musician and composer from the region of present-day Rajasthan. Known as Gaila Swami, he is credited with composing numerous devotional songs and hymns that are still sung in temples today.
Throughout history, the name Gaila has been associated with artistry, creativity, and a love for music and dance. While its usage may have waxed and waned over the centuries, the name continues to carry a rich cultural heritage rooted in the ancient traditions of the Indian subcontinent and neighboring regions.
People
Gaila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gaila 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
Gaila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gaila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 377 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gaila 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 909,163 US residents.
Is Gaila a common name?
We classify Gaila as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 564 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gaila most popular?
The single biggest year for Gaila was 1954, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gaila is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gaila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gaila 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.