Gayle

← Back to The Viking and Anglo-Saxon Age

Girl · Hebrew, through English

Gayle

Say it: GAYL

Try it with your surname

Meaning

A spelling of Gail, a short form of Abigail (Hebrew Avigayil, usually read as 'my father is joy').

Likelythe main view, with some doubt.

Most common in the US in the 1940s and 1950s.

Its wave through time

A fashion of the 1950s

In the United States

00.511.5218801900192019401960198020002020Girls 1951Boys 1936per 1,000 babies of that sex
  • 66,281 babies given this name since 1891
  • At its height in 1951, about 1 in 637 girls
  • Fewer than 5 babies a year in 2020

Through the ages

  1. The Modern Age1880 to today

Used by

American

The family of the name

Other spellings: Gail, Gale

Famous bearers

  • Gayle King, American broadcaster

Names worth a look

Where this comes from

  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.