Gael

What Gael means

Means “hunt”

Old English wāþ (“hunt”)).

Source: Wiktionary, “Gael” (revision 93456960), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Gael?

US: Rising: up from #220 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #1902 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 3,860 boys got the name (#86 that year). First in the US records in 1919.

How common

• About 1 in 443 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 15,108 baby boys in England and Wales 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 DE (4.75 per 1,000 boys), CA (4.74 per 1,000 boys), TX (4.43 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Gael is #86 in the US and #1466 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 Gael 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

• Cal554 US · 4 E&W
• Kael263 US · 12 E&W
• Cael79 US · 4 E&W
• Kal60 US · 6 E&W
• Gale13 US
• Kaell7 US
• Kel5 US
• Gal5 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 Gael

Boys

• Damian#109“to tame”^*
• Lukas#288“a man from Lucania”^*
• Kayden#135Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1989, with 6 babies
• Cooper#27Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #77 in 2015, #27 in 2025
• Kaiden#237Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1992, with 12 babies
• Emiliano#94Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #94 vs #1,359 in 2025

For a sister

• Presley#225“priest + wood, clearing”^*
• Layla#36Editor’s note Down from #30 in 2015 to #36 in 2025 in the US
• Camila#19Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #19 vs #1,051 in 2025
• Ellie#24Editor’s note Up from #48 in 2015 to #24 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 260 US girls in the 2025 records
• Ximena#183Basque, meaning “son”^*
• Zoey#69Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1967, with 6 babies

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Gael’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.