Gabriel

What Gabriel means

Finnish, meaning “God is my strong man, God is my hero”

From Latin Gabriel, from Koine Greek Γαβρῑήλ (Gabrīḗl), from Biblical Hebrew גַּבְרִיאֵל (gaḇrīʾḗl, literally “God is my strong man, God is my hero”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Gabriel” (revision 93883967), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Gabriel?

US: Falling: down from #22 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #65 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2010, when 12,891 boys got the name (#21 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 260 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 408 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 409 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in HI (9.6 per 1,000 boys), AK (8.8 per 1,000 boys), DC (8.71 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Gabriel is #37 in the US and #80 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.8% of US babies named Gabriel were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Gabriele22 US · 20 E&W
• Gabrielle12 US
• Gabriell6 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Gabriel

Boys

• Damien#352Form of Damian, meaning “to tame”^*
• Angel#67Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #67 vs #1,307 in 2025
• Isaac#47“he laughs, he will laugh”^*
• Kaleb#295“dog”^*
• Ethan#24“firmness, strong, or long-lived”^*
• Adrian#74“from the Roman harbor Hadria”^*

For a sister

• Arianna#234Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #56 in 2015, #234 in 2025
• Julianna#398Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #190 in 2015, #398 in 2025
• Chloe#23“young green shoot”^*
• Juliana#256Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #256 vs #1,892 in 2025
• Daniella#468Form of Daniel, meaning “God is my judge”^*
• Mya#443Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #146 in 2015, #443 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Greek, Hebrew, Latin, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Gabriel’s. Rank is US 2025.