Gail Russell
There are approximately 90 people named Gail Russell living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 3,808,382 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Gail with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Russell. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
90
1 in 3,808,382
Named Gail
127K
Alive today
Named Russell
243K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 127K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1951
Average age: 70
Top Census group: White (85.3%)
Estimated bearers: 243K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #108
Per 100K: 70.84
Top ancestry: White (73.9%)
First name trend
Gail: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Gail. The peak year was 1951 with 10,066 births. The average person named Gail today is 70 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gail
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Gail, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 85.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gail described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Gail at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White85.3% · 140,925
- Black or African American9.8% · 16,134
- Two or more races1.7% · 2,751
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 2,282
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 2,249
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 784
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Russell surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Russell, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 73.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Russell described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Russell at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White73.9% · 156,554
- Black or African American16.5% · 35,009
- Two or more races4.4% · 9,312
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 7,367
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2,049
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1,438
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Gail has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0371% of the US population, based on 127,181 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Gail right now.
The surname Russell appears at a rate of 70.84 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0708%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 90 people with the full name Gail Russell. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Gail
Related
Other people with the surname Russell
FAQ
Gail Russell: questions and answers
How many people are named Gail Russell?
We estimate approximately 90 people in the United States share the full name Gail Russell. That works out to about 1 in 3,808,382 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0371%) with the surname frequency (70.84 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Gail Russell?
We classify Gail Russell as "Very Rare". About 1 in 3,808,382 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Gail a male or female name?
Gail is predominantly female. Out of 210,681 total SSA registrations, 4.2% were male and 95.8% were female. See the full Gail profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people share the full name Gail Russell?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.