Gabriel

maleBiblical Hebrew

Traditionally interpreted as 'man of God' or 'God is my strong man/hero', referring to the archangel Gabriel, a messenger of God in Hebrew tradition.

Origin: Biblical Hebrew

Official popularity data is available for 7 regions, from 1945 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #32 in New South Wales, Australia in 2024. See regions.

Gabriel: Recorded since 1945, its highest recorded position is #32, and it was still inside the top 100 in 2025.

7registrars recorded it
244times a registrar ranked it
81years from first to last
#32highest recorded position
35groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Gabriel's record

Held a top-100 place for 25 years running. Names by top-100 run
England and Wales registered 1,022 births with the name in 2018, its largest count from any one registrar. Names by yearly birth count
Held at least one birth in every 2,000 for 23 years. Names by sustained share
Moved 400 places between two consecutive years — its largest recorded change. Names by largest single-year move

GAY-bree-əl/ˈɡeɪbriəl/

Compare Gabriel Run Name Checker on Gabriel

Data Confidence

Evidence: ModerateCompleteness: SubstantialEditorial review: 2026-07-21

Confidence in the evidencebehind this name's data — never a rating of the name itself, and never affected by how well it matches your preferences. How this is assessed

Because: backed by officially or academically authoritative sources, recently verified, popularity data covers multiple regions.

Source authority

Averaged from the real per-claim source-authority assessments already computed for this name's meaning/origin/pronunciation/popularity evidence.

Independent corroboration

Averaged from the real per-claim supporting-source counts already computed for this name's evidence.

See full evidence assessment (8 dimensions, 1 not yet tracked)

Source agreement

No recorded source disagreement for this name's meanings or origins.

Recency

Calculated from how long ago this record was last verified (2026-07-21), against a 270-day staleness threshold.

Geographic relevance

Calculated from the number of geographies with official popularity data (7) — broader official coverage means the evidence base is relevant to more of where the name is actually used.

Completeness

Calculated from how many of the expected data sections (variants, similar names, popularity, notable usage, IPA pronunciation) are actually populated for this name.

Direct observation vs. inference

Averaged from the real per-claim direct-observation-vs-inference ratios already computed for this name's evidence.

Identity & variant resolution quality

Cross-source identity and variant resolution requires HEKNO Knowledge, which isn't connected yet.

Name Characteristics

How these are calculated

Descriptive attributes of the name itself — not a confidence measurement, and not an overall quality score. Namewise doesn't approve or disapprove of names.

Pronunciation clarity

Editorial judgement of how consistently this name is pronounced correctly on first read, mapped from an easy/moderate/variable rating to a number. Describes the name — not a measure of evidence confidence.

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling: shorter names with fewer irregular letter clusters score higher. A disclosed formula, not an editorial opinion — and not a confidence measurement.

Recorded regional spread

Derived from how many geographies' official statistics record this name. It measures where the name is registered, not how well-known it feels to people living there.

International spread

Derived from the same official statistical coverage, scaled to reflect how widely the name crosses national datasets. Not a measure of how easily it is understood in another language.

Trend stability

Derived from the name's traditional/modern classification and its current popularity trend direction.

Overview

Origin: Biblical Hebrew
Meaning: Traditionally interpreted as 'man of God' or 'God is my strong man/hero', referring to the archangel Gabriel, a messenger of God in Hebrew tradition.
Pronunciation: GAY-bree-əl
Syllables: 2
Common nicknames: None recorded
Classification: Traditional & modern
Gender usage: male
Language family: Biblical Hebrew

Popularity

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2021

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#3126
1998	#2701
1999	#3225
2000	#2416
2001	#3262
2002	#3409
2003	#3099
2004	#4598
2006	#5061
2009	#5556
2012	#5876
2013	#5742
2021	#5581

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among boys in Norway in 73 of the 81 years from 1945 to 2025.

In 2025: #41 among boys in New South Wales, Australia, #44 among boys in Norway, #80 among boys in England and Wales, #112 among boys in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 7 national registrars across 7 regions, 1945–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1945
First recorded at #299 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #80 among boys in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Boys

Gabriel appears in 7 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Norway · Boys, which has ranked it in 73 years beginning in 1945, and has registered 4,215 births with the name.

Gabriel across 7 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Gabriel's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Norway · Boys	#299 (1945)	#37 (2018)	#44 (2025)	73 of 81	4,215 (1945–2025)	183 (2012)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#72 (1964)	#72 (1964)	#112 (2025)	61 of 62	1,654 (1964–2025)	67 (2015)
England and Wales · Boys	#176 (1996)	#61 (2018)	#80 (2025)	30 of 30	21,247 (1996–2025)	1,022 (2018)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#227 (1997)	#97 (2019)	#164 (2024)	28 of 28	388 (1997–2024)	30 (2019)
England and Wales · Girls	#3126 (1996)	#2416 (2000)	#5581 (2021)	13 of 26	50 (1996–2021)	6 (2000)
New South Wales, Australia · Boys	#91 (2002)	#32 (2024)	#41 (2025)	21 of 24	2,880 (2002–2025)	185 (2024)
New Zealand · Boys	#98 (2002)	#79 (2018)	#81 (2023)	17 of 22	957 (2002–2023)	66 (2009)

Gabriel by decade in Norway · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Gabriel in Norway · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1940s	16	3 of 10	5
1950s	29	5 of 10	6
1960s	53	9 of 10	6
1970s	126	10 of 10	13
1980s	145	10 of 10	15
1990s	342	10 of 10	34
2000s	1,150	10 of 10	115
2010sbusiest	1,577	10 of 10	158
2020s	777	6 of 10	130

Across Norway · Boys, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 158 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2018 and 2019, when recorded births fell by 60, from 176 to 116.

See the names Norwayhas recorded the most births with →

Gabriel appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

What the record shows

Recorded by 7 registrars between 1945 and 2025, ranked in 74 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #32, first reached in 2024.

It held a top-100 place in 28 years, 25 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 1,022 births, registered in England and Wales in 2018.

1 registrar publishes it in more than one category list, holding a place in each for at least five years — an observation about those lists rather than about the name.

Its record falls into 5 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 3 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1964, and 79 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Gabriel was ranked #32 in New South Wales, Australia · Boys in 2024. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Harvey#28
Hugo#28
Cooper#30
Beau#31
Ethan#33
Jacob#34
Xavier#35
Archer#36

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Gabia · #3860, 10y
Gabija · #267, 24y
Gabriela · #119, 64y
Gabriele · #268, 44y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 7 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Robin · #34, 76y
Glen · #29, 74y
Lilly · #27, 79y
Rose · #37, 78y

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1940 and 1949.

Eline · #32, 65y
Ingvild · #32, 81y
Reidar · #32, 72y
Renate · #32, 57y

Gabriel and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,577 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Gabriel without appearing here.

Gabriel moved ahead of

Phillip
In 2008 they stood at #243 and #204 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2009 that had become #114 and #390.
Isaac
In 1974 they stood at #558 and #407 in Norway · Boys; by 1975 that had become #345 and #609.
Justin
In 2010 they stood at #202 and #173 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2011 that had become #161 and #311.
Ronald
In 1984 they stood at #412 and #396 in Norway · Boys; by 1985 that had become #330 and #479.

Moved ahead of Gabriel

Liv
In 2001 they stood at #2416 and #3912 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2002 that had become #3409 and #2105.
Selma
In 1998 they stood at #3126 and #3795 in England and Wales · Girls; by 1999 that had become #3225 and #2444.
Luca
In 1997 they stood at #3126 and #3795 in England and Wales · Girls; by 1998 that had become #2701 and #2407.
Ollie
In 2009 they stood at #114 and #133 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2010 that had become #202 and #63.

Moved the opposite way to Gabriel

Arild
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gabriel went from #299 to #44 while Arild went from #32 to #489.
Arne
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gabriel went from #299 to #44 while Arne went from #6 to #222.
Bjørn
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gabriel went from #299 to #44 while Bjørn went from #3 to #56.
Dag
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gabriel went from #299 to #44 while Dag went from #48 to #426.

Moved the same way as Gabriel

Aksel
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gabriel went from #299 to #44 and Aksel from #174 to #25.
Daniel
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gabriel went from #299 to #44 and Daniel from #280 to #66.
David
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gabriel went from #299 to #44 and David from #167 to #88.
Emil
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gabriel went from #299 to #44 and Emil from #271 to #2.

Meaning & Origin

Traditionally interpreted as 'man of God' or 'God is my strong man/hero', referring to the archangel Gabriel, a messenger of God in Hebrew tradition.

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name, Online Etymology Dictionary.Confidence: high.

Biblical Hebrew

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Other names with a researched meaning and origin →

Where Gabriel is officially recorded

7 official registrars have recorded Gabriel, between 1945 and 2025, in 74 of those 81 years. Each registrar publishes for its own population on its own methodology, so the positions below are each one country's own ranking and are not comparable with one another.

Registrar	Recorded	Years	Its own highest position
Norway	1945–2025	73	#37 in 2018
Republic of Ireland	1964–2025	61	#72 in 1964
England and Wales	1996–2025	30	#61 in 2018
Northern Ireland	1997–2024	28	#97 in 2019
New South Wales, Australia	2002–2025	21	#32 in 2024
New Zealand	2002–2023	17	#79 in 2018
Scotland	2024	1	#127 in 2024

Its high point came 60 years earlier in Republic of Ireland (1964) than in New South Wales, Australia (2024).

No registrar recorded it for 3 years after 1950; it appears again in 1954.

Variants

No spelling variants or nicknames recorded yet.

Similar Names

No similar names recorded yet for this name.

Similarity is a demonstration score — see methodology.

Spelling

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling — see Name Characteristics above.

No commonly used alternate spellings recorded.

Pronunciation

GAY-bree-əl/ˈɡeɪbriəl/

Syllables: 2
Ease: easy

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Where Gabriel Is Recorded

National statistical agencies have recorded Gabriel in these places. This shows where the name is used — not where it comes from, and not that it carries particular cultural significance there.

New South Wales, AustraliaEngland and WalesNorthern IrelandScotlandRepublic of IrelandNorwayNew Zealand

Notable Usage

No safely-sourced notable usage recorded for this name yet.

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

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Gabriel

Gabriel at a glance

What stands out in Gabriel's record

Overview

Popularity

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Gabriel across 7 official records

Gabriel by decade in Norway · Boys

Gabriel appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Gabriel

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Gabriel and the names beside it

Gabriel moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Gabriel

Moved the opposite way to Gabriel

Moved the same way as Gabriel

Meaning & Origin

Where Gabriel is officially recorded

Variants

Similar Names

Spelling

Pronunciation

Where Gabriel Is Recorded

Notable Usage

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Gabriel at a glance

What stands out in Gabriel's record

Gabriel across 7 official records

Gabriel by decade in Norway · Boys

Gabriel appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Gabriel

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Gabriel and the names beside it

Gabriel moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Gabriel

Moved the opposite way to Gabriel

Moved the same way as Gabriel