girl's name

Gala

  • Origin Catalan
  • Gender Girl
  • Syllables 2
  • Letters 4
  • Popularity Uncommon
  • Births on record 2,570

Scotland

#817

2023 births

Gala is a girl's name with 2 syllables. In 2025 it was given to 71 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

  • Gala is a name of Catalan origin.
  • Peaked in 1965, when 99 babies were given the name.
  • After peaking in the 1960s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
  • Today about 1 in 46,696 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • First appears in US birth records in 1919.
  • 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.

Gala over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

460
'10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Gala by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1910s 6
1920s 21
1930s 61
1940s 139
1950s 247
1960s 417
1970s 182
1980s 66
1990s 93
2000s 120
2010s 460
2020s (to 2025) 374

How popular is Gala?

In 2025, Gala was given to 71 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Where Gala is used

Scotland #817 3 in 2023
United States #2,493 71 in 2025
France #2,916 10 in 2025
Canada #3,090 6 in 2023
England & Wales #3,148 8 in 2025

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

Names that peaked alongside Gala

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Gala also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Gala over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Gala in other languages

The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.

Bulgarian
Galina
Russian
Galina

Sibling names for Gala

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Gala — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Gala

How popular is the name Gala?

In 2025, Gala was given to 71 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Is Gala a girl's or a boy's name?

Gala is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.

How many syllables are in Gala?

Gala has 2 syllables.

When was Gala most popular?

Gala peaked in 1965, when 99 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1960s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.

Is Gala a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Gala currently ranks #2,493 in the United States. After peaking in the 1960s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.