Gail

Where Gail comes from

The dictionaries list Gail as a given name — a female given name, a diminutive of Abigail — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • 1 syllable
Along the way
  1. 1881
    First appearance
    #830 among girls, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1929
    Mostly girls from here
    Until now more boys than girls got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
  3. 1951
    Peak, #36
    9,886 babies named Gail — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1962
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #103.
  5. 1966
    Gail Devers born
    American athletics competitor, sprinter, hurdler
  6. 1977
    Gail Kim born
    Canadian professional wrestler, model and actress
In the dictionary
  • A female given name, a diminutive of Abigail.
Namesakes
  • Gail Devers · American athletics competitor, sprinter, hurdler, born 1966
  • Gail Kim · Canadian professional wrestler, model and actress, born 1977
  • Gail O'Grady · American actress, born 1963
  • Gail Patrick · American actress and television producer, 1911–1980
  • Gail Russell · actress, 1924–1961

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.