Gael

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Gail in US United States, GB United Kingdom, AU Australia and 10 more, גייל in IL Israel, Gall in CH Switzerland and Gal in NL Netherlands.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 3 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Gael is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Lao given name2.6K records spelled Gael9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Laos, Thailand, Peru, United States

  Languages: Lao, Thai

  Also written Gaël, กาเอล, กาเอ็ล, Gäël, Gaél

• a separate given name909 records spelled Gael6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Gaël, Gaêl, Gaél, Gäel, Gae͏̈l

• French (Côte d’Ivoire) given name649 records spelled Gael2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Côte d’Ivoire

  Also written Gaël

• Norwegian Bokmål given name460 records spelled Gael8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Norway, Denmark, United States, Peru

  Languages: Norwegian Bokmål, Danish, Swedish

  Also written Gaël, Gaèl

• Polish given name440 records spelled Gael3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, United States, Spain, Peru

  Also written Gaël, Gaél

• Hindi given name398 records spelled Gael5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Peru, United Kingdom, India

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu

  Also written Gaël, Gaèl

• Indonesian given name351 records spelled Gael4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Peru, United States, Philippines

  Also written Gaël, Gaèl, Gáel

55 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Gael is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, In medieval Irish legend, the hero from whom the Irish race took its name; linked to Old Irish Goidel.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In English, A member of an ethnic group in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, whose language is one that is Gaelic.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In French, Origine celtique, du nom du peuple gaélique; lié aux Celtes installés en Irlande au Ve s.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In English, Celtic inhabitant of Ireland, Scotland,

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, or the Isle of Man

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 76 years between 1919–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Gaël Morelb. 1972FRFrench actor and director
• Gael García Bernalb. 1978MXMexican actor and producer
• Gaël Givetb. 1981FRFrench footballer (born 1981)
• Gaël Danicb. 1981FRFrench footballer
• Gaël Clichyb. 1985FRFrench footballer and manager (born 1985)
• Gaël Monfilsb. 1986FRFrench tennis player (born 1986)
• Gaël Kakutab. 1991FRFrench-Congolese footballer (born 1991)
• Gaël Bigirimanab. 1993BIBurundian footballer
• Gaël Ondouab. 1995CMCameroonian association football player
• Maxime-Gaël Ngayap Hamboub. 2001FRFrench judoka

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 677 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Gael?

We estimate roughly 332 thousand people bear Gael (counting its spellings and scripts) across 7 countries in our records.

In which country does Gael have the most bearers?

Gael is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled gael.

Where is Gael most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Gael is densest in Slovenia — about 1 in 676 people — even though Argentina holds more of our records for it.

How common is Gael compared with other names?

In Argentina, Gael is the 366th most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

Is Gael a male or female name?

Gael is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Gael mean?

Recorded meaning: Celtic/Breton name meaning 'generous lord'.