Gola
An Italian given name of uncertain meaning, possibly from a Germanic source.
Name Census estimates that about 20 living Americans carry the first name Gola. It is a predominantly female name (98.4% of registrations). The average person named Gola today is around 87 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gola births was 1914 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gola. 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 Gola is about 87 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Golas were born before 1949.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gola. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
20
~ 1 in 17,137,717 Americans
Peak year
1914
18 babies that year
Average age
87
years old
1914 SSA rank
#3,461
Tracked since 1891
Census
Gola in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 108 people with the first name Gola, which placed it at #52,273 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
#52,273
National first-name rank
People counted
108
108 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gola
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gola is White at 63.0%. The next largest groups are Black (25.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.6%). 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 Gola 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 Gola at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.0% · 68
- Black or African American25.0% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.6% · 5
- Two or more races3.7% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Gola
Gola leans heavily female at 98.4% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Gola as a male name
- Ranked #3,461 in 1914
- 5 male births in 1914
- Peak: 1914 (5 births)
Gola as a female name
- Ranked #6,865 in 1965
- 5 female births in 1965
- Peak: 1914 (13 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gola leans strongly female. 89 people counted with this name were female (83.2%), compared with 18 male bearers (16.8%).
Popularity
Gola: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gola from the 1890s through to the 1960s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 94 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gola 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 Gola during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Golas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Gola
The name Gola is believed to have its origins in the Indian subcontinent, originating from the Sanskrit word "gola," which means "round" or "spherical." This connection to the concept of roundness or circularity may have been associated with the cyclical nature of life or the cosmic order in ancient Indian philosophy.
In ancient Hindu texts, the term "gola" is often used in the context of astronomical and mathematical calculations, particularly in the field of spherical trigonometry. It is possible that the name Gola was derived from this context, perhaps given to individuals who excelled in these fields or were involved in the study of celestial bodies.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gola can be found in the 6th century CE, when a famous Indian mathematician and astronomer named Gola Bhaskaracharya lived. He is credited with writing the influential treatise "Gola Siddhantas," which dealt with the principles of spherical astronomy and laid the foundations for the subsequent development of Indian astronomy.
Another notable figure bearing the name Gola was Gola Budda Pramanik, a 16th-century Bengali poet and writer from the region of present-day Bangladesh. He was renowned for his literary works, which celebrated the rich cultural heritage of Bengal and contributed significantly to the development of Bengali literature.
In the 18th century, Gola Nath Mukhopadhyay was a prominent Bengali scholar and educator who played a crucial role in the Bengal Renaissance. He founded several educational institutions and worked tirelessly to promote the spread of modern education in Bengal.
Moving forward in time, Gola Prasad Mukherjee was a 19th-century Indian lawyer and philanthropist who made significant contributions to the field of education and social welfare. He established numerous schools and colleges in Bengal and was instrumental in the promotion of women's education in the region.
Another notable figure with the name Gola was Gola Venkaiah, an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer from Andhra Pradesh. He actively participated in the Indian independence movement and worked towards the upliftment of underprivileged communities, particularly in the areas of education and social reform.
While the name Gola may have originated in ancient India, it has since gained recognition and popularity across various cultures and regions, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions to various fields throughout history.
People
Gola + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gola 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
Gola: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gola?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 20 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gola 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 17,137,717 US residents.
Is Gola a common name?
We classify Gola as "Very Rare". It ranks above 39.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 311 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gola most popular?
The single biggest year for Gola was 1914, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gola is about 87 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gola in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 108 people with the name Gola, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,273 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 Gola 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 Gola?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gola leans strongly female. 89 people counted with this name were female (83.2%), compared with 18 male bearers (16.8%). 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 Gola?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gola is White at 63.0%. The next largest groups are Black (25.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.6%). 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 Gola most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gola in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.0% (68 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 Gola in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gola a female name?
Yes, 98.4% of people registered as Gola 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 Gola still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gola 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 Gola 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 share the name Gola?
Want to know how many Americans are named Gola? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.