Girlie
A diminutive of the English term "girl," regarded as feminine or effeminate.
Name Census estimates that about 34 living Americans carry the first name Girlie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Girlie today is around 82 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Girlie births was 1917 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Girlie. 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
- • The typical person named Girlie is about 82 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Girlies were born before 1954.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Girlie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
34
~ 1 in 10,081,010 Americans
Peak year
1917
22 babies that year
Average age
82
years old
1978 SSA rank
#8,903
Tracked since 1891
Popularity
Girlie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Girlie from the 1890s through to the 1970s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 143 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Girlie 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 Girlie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Girlies live
Origin
Meaning and history of Girlie
The given name Girlie is believed to have originated as a diminutive form of the name Geraldine, which itself derives from the Germanic elements "gair" meaning "spear" and "wald" meaning "ruler". While the name Geraldine can be traced back to the Middle Ages, the shortened form Girlie likely emerged in the 19th century as a casual or affectionate nickname.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Girlie dates back to the late 1800s, when it appeared in several literary works as a nickname for young girls. However, it was not until the early 20th century that Girlie began to gain popularity as an independent given name.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Girlie was Girlie Loren, an American actress born in 1905. She appeared in several films during the 1920s and 1930s, though her career was relatively short-lived.
Another early bearer of the name was Girlie Hewitt, a British novelist and children's author born in 1907. She wrote several popular books for young readers, including the "Little Grey Rabbit" series.
In the realm of sports, Girlie Calleja was a Maltese footballer who played as a forward in the early 20th century. Born in 1908, he represented Malta in several international matches and is considered one of the country's earliest football stars.
Girlie Rodgers, born in 1917, was an American jazz singer and songwriter who performed with several notable big bands, including those of Woody Herman and Artie Shaw.
Lastly, Girlie Hewitt, born in 1925, was a British actress and singer who appeared in numerous stage productions and television shows throughout her career, which spanned several decades.
While the name Girlie has never been overly common, it has maintained a niche presence throughout the 20th century, often used as a nickname or as a playful and affectionate given name for young girls.
People
Girlie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Girlie 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
Girlie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Girlie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 34 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Girlie 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 10,081,010 US residents.
Is Girlie a common name?
We classify Girlie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 48.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 462 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Girlie most popular?
The single biggest year for Girlie was 1917, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Girlie is about 82 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Girlie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Girlie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Girlie 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 Girlie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Girlie 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 Girlie 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Girlie?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.