Gladyse
A feminine name derived from the Old English elements "gled" (bright) and "hyd" (kind).
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Gladyse. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gladyse today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gladyse births was 1915 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gladyse. 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 Gladyse is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Gladyses were born before 1963.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gladyse. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1915
8 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1925 SSA rank
#5,296
Tracked since 1898
Popularity
Gladyse: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gladyse from the 1890s through to the 1920s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 32 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Gladyse remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gladyse 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 Gladyse 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 Gladyse
The name Gladyse is a variant spelling of the English name Gladys, derived from the Welsh name Gwladus. The name originated in Wales and dates back to the medieval period, around the 12th century.
Gwladus is thought to be a compound name, formed from the Welsh elements "gwlad" meaning country or land, and a form of the word "hud" meaning combat or battle. The name likely translates to something along the lines of "battle maid" or "woman of the country."
While the name Gwladus appears in medieval Welsh records and texts, the variant spelling Gladyse is not attested until much later, emerging in England during the 16th century. It's believed that the spelling change occurred due to the influence of the French language on English naming traditions during this period.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Gladyse was Gladyse Vavasor, a 16th-century English noblewoman born around 1550. Another notable Gladyse was Gladyse Walpole, a 17th-century English aristocrat born in 1625. She was a member of the influential Walpole family and married into the Howard family.
In the 18th century, Gladyse Neville was a prominent English socialite and writer, born in 1713. She is known for her published letters and memoirs, which provide insight into the lives of the upper classes during this period.
Moving into the 19th century, Gladyse Beaumont was a British artist born in 1835. She is best known for her landscape paintings and portraiture.
Finally, in the early 20th century, Gladyse Ambrose was a notable British actress and singer. Born in 1902, she appeared in numerous stage productions and films throughout her career.
While the name Gladyse has waned in popularity in recent times, its rich history and Welsh origins make it a fascinating name with a story stretching back centuries.
People
Gladyse + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gladyse 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
Gladyse: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gladyse?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gladyse 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Gladyse a common name?
We classify Gladyse as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 61 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gladyse most popular?
The single biggest year for Gladyse was 1915, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gladyse is about 73 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 Gladyse in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gladyse a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gladyse 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 Gladyse still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gladyse 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 Gladyse 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 have Gladyse as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Gladyse, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.