How Many People Are Named Gayle?
An estimated 39,331 people in the United States have the first name Gayle. It is predominantly female (92.5%). The average bearer is 69 years old, and Gayle peaked in popularity in 1951 with 2,929 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Gayle as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Gayle paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 69, Gayle is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1967.
- Gayle has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
39,331
About 1 in 8,715 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
92.5% confidence
Average Age
69
years old
Peak Year
1951
2,929 births
Total Registered
66,309
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Gayle
Gayle is predominantly female (92.5%), though 4,951 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Gayle as a male name
Ranked #6,461 in 1989
7 male births in 1989
Peak: 1936 (181 births)
Gayle as a female name
Ranked #14,005 in 2024
6 female births in 2024
Peak: 1951 (2,826 births)
Gayle: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Gayle span from the 1890s to the 2020s, covering 14 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 24,517 babies were registered. Gayle has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Gayle by Decade
How has Gayle tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Gayle by State
Birth registrations for Gayle span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Ohio, Illinois. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Vermont. On average, about 1,182 Gayles were registered per state.
Gayle + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Gayle as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Gayle
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
Gayle: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gayle?
We estimate approximately 39,331 people named Gayle are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 8,715 Americans share this first name.
Is Gayle a common name?
Gayle is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 66,309 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Gayle most popular?
Gayle reached peak popularity in 1951, when 2,929 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Gayle is approximately 69 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Gayle a female name?
Gayle is predominantly female. 92.5% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Gayle Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Gayle Smith, Gayle Johnson, Gayle Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me