Gaile
A French feminine name derived from the name Gail or Gale, meaning "lively".
Name Census estimates that about 457 living Americans carry the first name Gaile. It is a predominantly female name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Gaile today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gaile births was 1946 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gaile. 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 Gaile is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Gailes were born before 1962.
People living today
457
~ 1 in 750,009 Americans
Peak year
1946
49 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1947 SSA rank
#3,929
Tracked since 1909
Gender
Gender distribution for Gaile
Out of the 903 babies given the name Gaile since 1880, 99.4% 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.
Gaile as a male name
- Ranked #3,929 in 1947
- 5 male births in 1947
- Peak: 1947 (5 births)
Gaile as a female name
- Ranked #10,806 in 1983
- 5 female births in 1983
- Peak: 1946 (49 births)
Popularity
Gaile: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gaile from the 1900s through to the 1980s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 306 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gaile 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 Gaile during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gailes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Georgia recorded the most babies named Gaile, while Illinois, Georgia, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gaile
The name Gaile is derived from the Old French word "gaillard," which means "lively" or "high-spirited." It is believed to have originated in France during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gaile can be found in the French epic poem "La Chanson de Roland," which dates back to the late 11th century. In this poem, Gaile is mentioned as the name of a Frankish knight who fought alongside Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass.
During the Renaissance period, the name Gaile gained popularity among the French nobility. One notable figure with this name was Gaile de Mauleon, a 13th-century French noblewoman and troubadour. She was known for her poetry and her patronage of the arts.
In the 16th century, the name Gaile was also found in the writings of the French playwright and poet Pierre de Ronsard. He dedicated one of his sonnets to a woman named Gaile, praising her beauty and grace.
As the name spread across Europe, it underwent various spellings and pronunciations. In England, it was sometimes spelled as "Gail" or "Gayle," while in Germany, it was known as "Gail" or "Gale."
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Gaile was Gaile Borden, an American inventor and entrepreneur who lived from 1801 to 1874. He is best known for developing the process of condensing milk, which revolutionized the dairy industry.
Another notable Gaile was Gaile Sayers, an American professional football player who was born in 1943 and played for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1971. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977 and was widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs in NFL history.
In the literary world, Gaile Carson Levine is an American author who was born in 1948. She is best known for her children's fantasy novel "Ella Enchanted," which was published in 1997 and later adapted into a film.
Gaile Force is a Canadian singer and songwriter who was born in 1958. She is known for her powerful vocals and her contributions to the Canadian folk music scene.
Gaile Garnett is an American singer and actress who was born in 1934. She is best known for her hit song "We'll Sing in the Sunshine," which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1964.
People
Gaile + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gaile 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
Gaile: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gaile?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 457 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gaile 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 750,009 US residents.
Is Gaile a common name?
We classify Gaile as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 903 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gaile most popular?
The single biggest year for Gaile was 1946, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gaile is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gaile a female name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Gaile 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.