Gaius
A masculine Roman name derived from Latin meaning "rejoicer".
Name Census estimates that about 463 living Americans carry the first name Gaius. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gaius today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gaius births was 2014 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gaius. 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.
People living today
463
~ 1 in 740,290 Americans
Peak year
2014
42 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,618
Tracked since 1920
Popularity
Gaius: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gaius from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 229 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Gaius remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gaius 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 Gaius during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gaius' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Gaius
The name Gaius has its origins in ancient Rome, dating back to the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It is derived from the Latin word "gaudere," which means "to rejoice" or "to be glad." The name was commonly used among Roman citizens and was frequently found in historical records and inscriptions from the time.
One of the earliest and most notable historical references to the name Gaius is in the writings of the ancient Roman philosopher, statesman, and orator Cicero, who lived from 106 BC to 43 BC. Cicero mentions several individuals named Gaius in his works, including Gaius Cassius Longinus, a Roman politician and one of the assassins of Julius Caesar.
The name Gaius was also prominent in the early Christian era. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, a Roman historian who lived from around 70 AD to 122 AD. He is best known for his work "De Vita Caesarum" (The Lives of the Caesars), a collection of biographies of the first twelve Roman emperors.
Another significant historical figure with the name Gaius was Gaius Plinius Secundus, better known as Pliny the Elder, a Roman author and naturalist who lived from 23 AD to 79 AD. He is renowned for his encyclopedic work "Naturalis Historia" (Natural History), which covered a wide range of subjects, including astronomy, geography, anthropology, and zoology.
In the realm of Roman law, Gaius was the name of a prominent Roman jurist who lived in the 2nd century AD. His work, known as the "Institutiones" (Institutes), was a highly influential legal text that served as a foundation for Roman law and has had a lasting impact on legal systems throughout the world.
Another notable individual with the name Gaius was Gaius Valerius Catullus, a Roman poet who lived from around 84 BC to 54 BC. He is best known for his lyric poems, which were considered among the finest in Latin literature and had a significant influence on later poets.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Gaius, a name with deep roots in ancient Roman culture and a rich historical legacy.
People
Gaius + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gaius 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
Gaius: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gaius?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 463 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gaius 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 740,290 US residents.
Is Gaius a common name?
We classify Gaius as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 498 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gaius most popular?
The single biggest year for Gaius was 2014, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gaius is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gaius a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gaius 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.
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.