Galilee

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Galilea in MX Mexico, AR Argentina, ES Spain and 8 more, Galileia in BR Brazil and Galilaea in DE Germany.

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 17 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◐

Galilee is also recorded as 8 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Catalan given name246 records spelled Galilee5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, France

  Languages: Catalan, French

  Also written Galilea, Galilée, Galilèe, Galileé

• Swahili surname34 records spelled Galilee4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Tanzania

  Also written Galilaya, Galilée

• Indonesian given name28 records spelled Galilee5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Philippines

  Also written Galilea, Galilèe

• Russian given name20 records spelled Galilee4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia

  Also written Галилея, Galileia

• Polish name15 records spelled Galilee2 spellings in the group

  Also written Galilea

• Thai surname11 records spelled Galilee23 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia

  Also written กะล่อน, Kalon, กะ'ล่อน, กาลล์, กะล่อน'

• a separate name9 records spelled Galilee2 spellings in the group

  Also written Galilée

• a separate name5 records spelled Galilee3 spellings in the group

  Also written Galilée

16 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●

Galilee is also recorded in 2 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, A narthex, particularly in the United Kingdom and the Church of England; a vestibule, a fully-enclosed yet porch-like structure, leading to the main body of an English ecclesiastical building.

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

• In enm, Galilee (a mountainous geographic region in northern Israel)

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

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) — 24 years between 2001–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 41 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Galilee?

We estimate roughly 5.7 thousand people bear Galilee (counting its spellings and scripts) across 7 countries in our records.

In which country does Galilee have the most bearers?

Galilee is most frequently recorded in Mexico, where it is most often spelled galilea.

How common is Galilee compared with other names?

In Puerto Rico, Galilee is the 756th most common given name of 2,536 given names recorded there.

What does the name Galilee mean?

Recorded meaning: from OFr galilee ‘porch or chapel at the entrance to a church’; first attested William de la Galilye 1337 Cl