Gili
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "small island".
Name Census estimates that about 61 living Americans carry the first name Gili. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gili today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gili births was 2005 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gili. 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 Gili. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
61
~ 1 in 5,618,924 Americans
Peak year
2005
11 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2022 SSA rank
#16,149
Tracked since 2004
Census
Gili in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 234 people with the first name Gili, which placed it at #34,758 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
#34,758
National first-name rank
People counted
234
234 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gili
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gili is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.7%). 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 Gili 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 Gili at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.3% · 202
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 11
- Black or African American3.0% · 7
- Two or more races1.3% · 3
Popularity
Gili: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gili from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 40 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gili 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 Gili 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 Gili
The name Gili has its origins in Hebrew, derived from the word "gilah," meaning "joy" or "rejoicing." It is a gender-neutral name that has been used for both males and females throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gili can be found in the Hebrew Bible, where it appears as a variant spelling of the name "Gilead." In the Book of Genesis, Gilead is mentioned as the son of Machir and the grandson of Manasseh, one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
In ancient Jewish texts, such as the Talmud and other rabbinical literature, the name Gili is occasionally mentioned in reference to individuals or places. However, specific details about these references are scarce due to the age and fragmented nature of the sources.
During the Middle Ages, the name Gili gained popularity among Jewish communities across Europe and the Middle East. One notable figure from this period was Gili ben David, a Jewish philosopher and scholar who lived in Spain during the 12th century.
As Jewish communities spread throughout the world, the name Gili traveled with them. In the 16th century, Gili Raaya was a prominent Jewish scholar and poet in the Ottoman Empire, known for his contributions to the study of Kabbalah and Hebrew literature.
Moving into the modern era, several individuals with the name Gili have made their mark in various fields. Gili Cohen (1949-2020) was an Israeli singer and actress who rose to fame in the 1970s and 1980s, known for her powerful vocals and vibrant stage presence.
Gili Husid-Polturak (born 1979) is an Israeli-American mathematician and professor at Columbia University, recognized for her work in algebraic geometry and representation theory.
Gili Navon (born 1976) is an Israeli actress and model who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, both in Israel and internationally.
Gili Shamushian (born 1983) is an Israeli-American classical pianist and composer, known for her virtuosic performances and innovative compositions that blend various musical styles.
Gili Trawangan is a small island located off the northwest coast of Lombok, Indonesia, known for its stunning beaches, vibrant nightlife, and diverse marine life. While not a person, the name "Gili" in this context is believed to be derived from the same Hebrew roots, reflecting the island's reputation as a joyful and rejuvenating destination.
People
Gili + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gili 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
Gili: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gili?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 61 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gili 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 5,618,924 US residents.
Is Gili a common name?
We classify Gili as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 62 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gili most popular?
The single biggest year for Gili was 2005, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gili is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gili in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 234 people with the name Gili, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,758 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 Gili 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 Gili?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gili leans strongly female. 195 people counted with this name were female (84.8%), compared with 35 male bearers (15.2%). 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 Gili?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gili is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.7%). 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 Gili most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gili in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (202 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 Gili in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gili a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gili 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 Gili still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gili 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 Gili 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 Americans are named Gili?
See how many people share the name Gili on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.