NameRealm
Gale

Gale: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“pleasant; merry”
Origin
English
Say it
GAYL · 1 syllable
Used for
Both (62% girls, 38% boys since 1880)

Used for both sexes, often as a variant of Gail, which developed from Abigail as a short form. It also coincides with the English word gale, but the personal-name origin is usually from Gail.

English namesNames meaning joyShort namesClassic names

How popular is Gale?

20243.9 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Gale in 202413

Peak year1947

Total US babies since 188032,330

Gale is rising: use over the last five years is 1.7× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Gale

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Gailfather rejoices · English
  • Gaylecheerful, lively · English
  • Averyruler of elves · English
  • Riverriver · English
  • Sawyerwoodcutter · English
  • TatumTata's homestead · English
  • EmersonEmery's son · English
  • Haydenhay valley · English

Gale questions

What does the name Gale mean?

Gale means "pleasant; merry". It comes from English. Used for both sexes, often as a variant of Gail, which developed from Abigail as a short form. It also coincides with the English word gale, but the personal-name origin is usually from Gail.

Is Gale a boy or girl name?

Gale is used for both: about 62% of US babies named Gale since 1880 were girls.

How popular is Gale?

13 US babies were named Gale in 2024. Its peak year was 1947.

How do you pronounce Gale?

Gale is usually pronounced GAYL.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.