NameRealm
Gayle

Gayle: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“cheerful, lively”
Origin
English
Say it
GAYL · 1 syllable
Used for
Girls (93% of all uses)

Usually a variant of Gail, which developed in English as a short form of Abigail and also from the word gale. As a given name, it is commonly treated as the Gail variant.

English namesNames meaning joyClassic namesShort names

How popular is Gayle?

20241.8 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 Gayle in 20246

Peak year1951

Total US babies since 188066,309

Gayle is steady now but far below its 1951 peak.

Names like Gayle

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Gailfather rejoices · English
  • Galepleasant; merry · English
  • Oliviaolive tree · English
  • Evelyndesired; little bird · English
  • Harperharp player · English
  • Violetviolet flower · English
  • Hazelhazel tree · English
  • Ellieshort form of names ending in -el or -ella · English

Gayle questions

What does the name Gayle mean?

Gayle means "cheerful, lively". It comes from English. Usually a variant of Gail, which developed in English as a short form of Abigail and also from the word gale. As a given name, it is commonly treated as the Gail variant.

Is Gayle a boy or girl name?

Gayle is mainly a girl's name in US records (93% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Gayle?

6 US babies were named Gayle in 2024. Its peak year was 1951.

How do you pronounce Gayle?

Gayle 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.