Gamaliel
Masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my reward".
Name Census estimates that about 1,840 living Americans carry the first name Gamaliel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gamaliel today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gamaliel births was 2004 (56 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gamaliel. 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
1.8K
~ 1 in 186,280 Americans
Peak year
2004
56 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,535
Tracked since 1921
Census
Gamaliel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,894 people with the first name Gamaliel, which placed it at #5,759 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
#5,759
National first-name rank
People counted
2.9K
2,894 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
87.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gamaliel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gamaliel is Hispanic at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (7.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Gamaliel 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 Gamaliel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino87.6% · 2,535
- Black or African American7.2% · 207
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 80
- White2.2% · 64
- Two or more races0.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Gamaliel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gamaliel from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 485 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Gamaliel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gamaliel 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 Gamaliel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gamaliels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Gamaliel, while New Jersey, Arizona, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 102 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gamaliel
The name Gamaliel is derived from the Hebrew language and has its origins in ancient Jewish culture. It is a combination of two Hebrew words: "gamal" meaning "camel" and "el" meaning "God" or "deity." The name can be interpreted to mean "God is my rewarder" or "camel driver of God."
One of the earliest and most notable historical references to the name Gamaliel is found in the New Testament of the Bible. In the Acts of the Apostles, Gamaliel is mentioned as a Pharisee doctor of Jewish law who advocated for tolerance towards the early Christians. He lived in the 1st century AD and was respected for his wisdom and moderation.
The name Gamaliel also appears in the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It refers to Gamaliel the Elder, a prominent Jewish scholar and leader who lived during the same time as the Gamaliel mentioned in the New Testament. He is revered for his contributions to Jewish law and tradition.
In the 10th century, Gamaliel ben Pedahzur was a renowned Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in Spain. He wrote extensively on various subjects, including mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy, and his works had a significant influence on both Jewish and Islamic thought.
During the 16th century, Gamaliel Ratner Rodkinsohn was a prominent Jewish author and scholar from Poland. He wrote extensively on Jewish law and commentaries on the Talmud, and his works were widely studied and respected among Jewish communities in Eastern Europe.
In more recent history, Gamaliel Waldo Benavides was a Peruvian philosopher and writer who lived from 1889 to 1977. He was known for his work in the fields of education, philosophy, and literature, and made significant contributions to the intellectual and cultural landscape of Peru.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Gamaliel. While the name has its roots in ancient Jewish culture, it has been embraced and used across various regions and time periods, reflecting its enduring significance and meaning.
People
Gamaliel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gamaliel 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
Gamaliel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gamaliel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,840 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gamaliel 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 186,280 US residents.
Is Gamaliel a common name?
We classify Gamaliel as "Rare". It ranks above 93.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,914 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gamaliel most popular?
The single biggest year for Gamaliel was 2004, when 56 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gamaliel is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gamaliel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,894 people with the name Gamaliel, or 0.96 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,759 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 Gamaliel 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 Gamaliel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gamaliel appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,895 people counted with this name, 99.4% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Gamaliel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gamaliel is Hispanic at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Black (7.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Gamaliel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Gamaliel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (2,535 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 Gamaliel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gamaliel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gamaliel 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.
Is Gamaliel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gamaliel 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 Gamaliel 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 Gamaliel?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.