Ganelle
Of French origin, meaning "a small cluster of grapes".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Ganelle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ganelle today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ganelle births was 1916 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ganelle. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ganelle. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1916
6 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2008 SSA rank
#18,449
Tracked since 1916
Census
Ganelle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 144 people with the first name Ganelle, which placed it at #46,371 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
#46,371
National first-name rank
People counted
144
144 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
38.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ganelle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ganelle is White at 38.2%. The next largest groups are Black (34.7%) and Hispanic (20.1%). 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 Ganelle 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 Ganelle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White38.2% · 55
- Black or African American34.7% · 50
- Hispanic or Latino20.1% · 29
- Two or more races4.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1
Popularity
Ganelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ganelle from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ganelle 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 Ganelle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ganelle
The name Ganelle is believed to have originated from the ancient Gaulish language, which was spoken by the Celtic tribes inhabiting the region of modern-day France and parts of neighboring countries during the Iron Age and Roman period. Its roots can be traced back to the Proto-Celtic word "genos," meaning "kin" or "family."
In the early medieval period, the name appears to have evolved into various forms across different regions of Europe. Historical records from the 6th century mention the name "Ganella" being used in parts of present-day France and Italy. It is possible that this name was derived from the Latin word "ganelon," meaning "deceiver" or "traitor," referring to the infamous character Ganelon from the medieval French epic "The Song of Roland."
One of the earliest documented individuals bearing the name Ganelle was a Frankish noblewoman named Ganelle of Auxerre, who lived in the late 8th century. She was known for her piety and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Another notable figure was Ganelle of Anjou, a 12th-century countess and influential figure in the royal court of King Henry II of England.
In the 13th century, the name Ganelle appeared in various charters and legal documents across parts of present-day France and Germany. During this period, it was sometimes spelled as "Ganella" or "Ganilde." One example is Ganelle de Montfort, a French noblewoman born in 1235, who was known for her involvement in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars.
In the 15th century, a prominent figure named Ganelle de Valois (1408-1462) gained recognition as a patron of the arts and literature. She was a member of the French royal family and played a significant role in the cultural renaissance of the time.
Another historical figure worth mentioning is Ganelle de Bonneval (1540-1615), a French courtier and writer who served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine de' Medici. Her memoirs provide valuable insights into the life and intrigues of the French royal court during the 16th century.
People
Ganelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ganelle 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
Ganelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ganelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ganelle 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Ganelle a common name?
We classify Ganelle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ganelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Ganelle was 1916, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ganelle is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ganelle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 144 people with the name Ganelle, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,371 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 Ganelle 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 Ganelle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ganelle appears almost entirely female. Of the 146 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Ganelle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ganelle is White at 38.2%. The next largest groups are Black (34.7%) and Hispanic (20.1%). 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 Ganelle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ganelle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 38.2% (55 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 Ganelle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ganelle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ganelle 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 Ganelle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ganelle 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 Ganelle 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 are named Ganelle?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.