Galina
A feminine Russian name derived from the Greek word meaning "calm".
Name Census estimates that about 365 living Americans carry the first name Galina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Galina today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Galina births was 2014 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Galina. 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
365
~ 1 in 939,053 Americans
Peak year
2014
15 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,338
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Galina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Galina from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 101 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Galina remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Galina 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 Galina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Galinas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Galina
Galina is a feminine given name of Russian origin, derived from the Greek word "galene," meaning "calm" or "tranquility." It has been in use since ancient times and is believed to have been introduced to the Slavic regions during the Byzantine Empire's influence on Eastern Europe.
The earliest recorded use of the name Galina can be traced back to the 9th century, when it appeared in various Russian chronicles and historical records. One notable example is Galina Vshizhskaya, a 12th-century Russian princess known for her patronage of the arts and charitable works.
In the Byzantine Empire, the name Galina was associated with nobility and was borne by several members of the imperial family, including Galina Vatatzes, a 13th-century Byzantine princess and daughter of the Emperor Theodore II Laskaris.
During the medieval period, the name Galina gained popularity among the Russian aristocracy and was often bestowed upon daughters of noble families. One prominent figure was Galina Kuzmina-Karavaeva, a 20th-century Russian noblewoman and saint of the Russian Orthodox Church (1878-1945).
In the 19th century, the name Galina became more widespread in Russia, and several notable figures bore this name. One of the most famous was Galina Ulanova, a renowned Russian prima ballerina who was considered one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century (1910-1998).
Another notable Galina was Galina Vishnevskaya, a celebrated Russian soprano and wife of the renowned cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. She was a prominent figure in the Soviet cultural scene and an advocate for artistic freedom (1926-2012).
In the field of literature, Galina Nikolayeva was a prominent Russian children's author known for her novels and short stories about the experiences of young people during World War II (1910-1963).
Beyond Russia, the name Galina has also been used in other Slavic countries, such as Ukraine and Belarus, where it has similar connotations of calmness and serenity.
People
Galina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Galina 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
Galina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Galina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 365 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Galina 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 939,053 US residents.
Is Galina a common name?
We classify Galina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 373 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Galina most popular?
The single biggest year for Galina was 2014, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Galina is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Galina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Galina 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.