Gloster
Possible derivation from Old English "glow-aster", referring to a bright or shining place.
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Gloster. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gloster today is around 96 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gloster births was 1932 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gloster. 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 Gloster is about 96 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Glosters were born before 1940.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gloster. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1932
6 babies that year
Average age
96
years old
1932 SSA rank
#3,530
Tracked since 1928
Popularity
Gloster: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gloster from the 1920s through to the 1930s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, 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
Gloster 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 Gloster 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 Gloster
The given name Gloster has its roots in Old English, originating from the historic city of Gloucester in the southwest of England. This place name is derived from the Latin "Glēw" meaning "bright" or "fertile", combined with the Old English word "ceaster" meaning a Roman camp or fortified town. The name Gloster emerged as an anglicized version of Gloucester during the Middle Ages.
In the 7th century, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, one of the earliest historical records in Old English, mentions the settlement of Gloucester as an important mercantile center. The name Gloster appears in various medieval texts and records, including the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Gloster was Gloster Ridley (c. 1238-1305), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Northumberland during the reign of King Edward I. Another notable bearer of the name was Gloster Vaughan (c. 1495-1536), a Welsh politician and diplomat who served as Ambassador to the Netherlands under King Henry VIII.
In the 16th century, the name gained prominence with Gloster Beaumont (c. 1520-1589), an English playwright and poet who wrote several plays and poems, including the play "The Knight of the Burning Pestle". During the same period, Gloster Whittingham (c. 1524-1597) was a renowned English Protestant clergyman and scholar who played a significant role in the English Reformation.
In the 17th century, Gloster Ridley (1616-1688) was an English politician and lawyer who served as a Member of Parliament for Newcastle-upon-Tyne and was a prominent supporter of the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War. Another individual with the name was Gloster Cary (1628-1695), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Warwickshire and was a staunch Royalist during the same conflict.
People
Gloster + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gloster 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
Gloster: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gloster?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gloster 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 Gloster a common name?
We classify Gloster 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, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gloster most popular?
The single biggest year for Gloster was 1932, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gloster is about 96 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 Gloster in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gloster a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gloster 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 Gloster still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gloster 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 Gloster 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 share the name Gloster?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.