first name
GAIL
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 165,125 people named Gail, 85.3% reported their origin as White, 9.8% as Black and 1.7% as two or more races. 97.9% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Gail peaked in 1951, when 10,066 babies got the name.
At least 210,698 babies have been given the name since 1881. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Gail by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1950s, when it ranked #88. The largest share of babies named Gail, 65.3%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Gail is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Gail has been most common in Rhode Island (2.8×), Massachusetts (2.3×), and Maine (2.2×), and least common in Arizona (0.25×).
203,889 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Gail
Spelled almost the same
5 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Gail, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Gail ranks #24,761 of 156,621, with 1,051 people. See Gail as a last name
Compare
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