Gala
A Spanish name derived from the word "gala", meaning celebration or festivity.
Name Census estimates that about 1,786 living Americans carry the first name Gala. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gala today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gala births was 1965 (99 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gala. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Gala with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 191,912 Americans
Peak year
1965
99 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,306
Tracked since 1919
Census
Gala in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,684 people with the first name Gala, which placed it at #8,585 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#8,585
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,684 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gala
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gala is White at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.5%) and Black (12.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gala described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gala at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.1% · 861
- Hispanic or Latino31.5% · 530
- Black or African American12.5% · 211
- Two or more races2.7% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 8
Popularity
Gala: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gala from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 459 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Gala remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gala 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 Gala during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Galas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Gala, while North Carolina, Arizona, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 48 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gala
The name Gala has its origins in the Spanish language, deriving from the word "gala," which means "celebration" or "festivity." The name first emerged in Spain during the medieval period, reflecting the country's rich cultural heritage and the significance of celebratory events.
Historically, the name Gala has been associated with elegant festivities and joyous occasions. It evokes a sense of merriment and celebration, often linked to the vibrant traditions and customs of Spanish society. In ancient texts and historical records, the word "gala" frequently appeared in descriptions of grand celebrations, royal ceremonies, and festive gatherings.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Gala was Gala Placidia, who lived from 388 to 450 AD. She was the daughter of Roman Emperor Theodosius I and played a significant role in the politics of the Western Roman Empire during her reign as the regent for her son, Valentinian III.
Another notable figure in history who bore the name Gala was Gala Dalí, the wife and muse of the renowned Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. Born in 1894 as Elena Ivanovna Diakonova, she was a Russian immigrant who had a profound influence on Dalí's artistic vision and became a central figure in the Surrealist movement.
In the realm of literature, Gala Éluard, born in 1892, was a prominent figure. She was married to the French poet Paul Éluard and was deeply involved in the Surrealist literary circle, inspiring and influencing many writers and artists of the time.
The name Gala also holds historical significance in the realm of music. Gala Dalí, born in 1958, is a Spanish operatic soprano who has gained international acclaim for her performances in various operatic roles, particularly in the works of composers such as Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini.
Lastly, Gala Arben, born in 1975, is a Spanish actress and television presenter who has made a name for herself in the entertainment industry. She has appeared in numerous television shows and films, contributing to the cultural landscape of Spain and beyond.
People
Gala + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gala 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
Gala: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gala?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,786 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gala 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 191,912 US residents.
Is Gala a common name?
We classify Gala as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,112 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gala most popular?
The single biggest year for Gala was 1965, when 99 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gala is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gala in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,684 people with the name Gala, or 0.56 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,585 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gala in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gala?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gala appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,683 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gala?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gala is White at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.5%) and Black (12.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gala most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gala in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.1% (861 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Gala in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gala a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gala 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.
Is Gala still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gala 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 Gala 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.
How many people share the name Gala?
Want to know how many Americans are named Gala? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.