Galilea
A Hebrew name meaning "little wanderess" or "little traveler".
Name Census estimates that about 8,775 living Americans carry the first name Galilea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Galilea today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Galilea births was 2016 (594 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Galilea. 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
- • Galilea is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
8.8K
~ 1 in 39,060 Americans
Peak year
2016
594 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#637
Tracked since 1993
Census
Galilea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,371 people with the first name Galilea, which placed it at #3,741 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
#3,741
National first-name rank
People counted
5.4K
5,371 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Galilea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Galilea is Hispanic at 97.4%. The next largest groups are White (1.9%) and Two or More Races (0.2%). 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 Galilea 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 Galilea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.4% · 5,233
- White1.9% · 100
- Two or more races0.2% · 12
- Black or African American0.2% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 6
Popularity
Galilea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Galilea from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 3,946 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Galilea remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Galilea 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 Galilea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Galileas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 33 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Galilea, while South Carolina, Minnesota, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 231 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Galilea
The name Galilea is derived from the Hebrew word "Galil," which means "district" or "region." It is closely associated with the region of Galilee in northern Israel, which was an important area during the time of Jesus Christ.
The earliest recorded use of the name Galilea can be found in the Bible, specifically in the Gospel of Matthew, where it is mentioned as the place where Jesus spent a significant portion of his ministry. The region of Galilee played a crucial role in the life and teachings of Jesus, and its name became closely linked to the Christian faith.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Galilea was Galilea of Castello (c. 1233-1290), an Italian mystic and member of the Third Order of St. Francis. She is known for her visions and writings, which influenced the spiritual life of her time.
Another notable figure was Galilea Crivelli (c. 1460-1535), an Italian nun and mystic who lived in Milan. She was known for her spiritual writings and her devotion to the Virgin Mary.
In the 16th century, Galilea Carrafa (1515-1586) was a prominent Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts. She was a member of the influential Carrafa family and played an important role in the cultural and intellectual life of Naples.
During the 17th century, Galilea Rinaldi (1592-1670) was an Italian painter and engraver known for her religious works and portraits. She was one of the few female artists of her time to achieve recognition and success.
In more recent history, Galilea Montijo (1824-1898) was a Spanish noblewoman who became the wife of Emperor Napoleon III of France. She was a prominent figure in the social and political circles of the Second French Empire.
While the name Galilea is not as common today as it once was, it has a rich historical and cultural significance, particularly in the Christian tradition and in Italy, where many of its notable bearers have hailed from.
People
Galilea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Galilea 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
Galilea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Galilea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,775 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Galilea 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 39,060 US residents.
Is Galilea a common name?
We classify Galilea as "Rare". It ranks above 97.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,862 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Galilea most popular?
The single biggest year for Galilea was 2016, when 594 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Galilea is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Galilea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,371 people with the name Galilea, or 1.78 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,741 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 Galilea 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 Galilea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Galilea appears almost entirely female. Of the 5,370 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Galilea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Galilea is Hispanic at 97.4%. The next largest groups are White (1.9%) and Two or More Races (0.2%). 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 Galilea most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Galilea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (5,233 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 Galilea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Galilea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Galilea 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 Galilea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Galilea 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 Galilea 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 common is the name Galilea?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Galilea on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.