FastNamesGabriel
Hebrew name meaning "Derived from biblical Hebrew Gavri'el (גַּבְרִיאֵל), compound of gever ('strong man', 'hero') and El ('God'), meaning 'God is my strength' or 'strong man of God'.". Ranked 37th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Gabriel
Derived from biblical Hebrew Gavri'el (גַּבְרִיאֵל), compound of gever ('strong man', 'hero') and El ('God'), meaning 'God is my strength' or 'strong man of God'.
Linguistically, Gabriel is classified under Hebrew naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "GAY-bree-uhl".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Gabriel has been given to a total of 395,778 boys. It has also been given to 6,849 girls.
Peak year: Gabriel reached its highest relative share among boys in 2010, when 12,891 babies received the name (6,719 per million births).
All-time best rank: 21st place, first achieved in 2010.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 37th with 6,569 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 22nd (down 15 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Gabriel in the 2000s than in any other decade (119,830 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 147 |
| 1890s | 144 |
| 1900s | 234 |
| 1910s | 1,335 |
| 1920s | 2,201 |
| 1930s | 1,839 |
| 1940s | 2,039 |
| 1950s | 3,204 |
| 1960s | 6,159 |
| 1970s | 24,390 |
| 1980s | 32,320 |
| 1990s | 54,819 |
| 2000s | 119,830 |
| 2010s | 105,621 |
| 2020s | 41,496 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Gabriel is most common in the US
Accounting for when Gabriel was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- New Mexico: 2.5 times the national rate (5,678 births since 1910).
- Alaska: 1.6 times the national rate (1,227 births since 1910).
- Arizona: 1.6 times the national rate (12,492 births since 1910).
- Hawaii: 1.4 times the national rate (1,579 births since 1910).
- California: 1.3 times the national rate (66,744 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Gabriel?
About 378,000 living American boys and men share the name Gabriel. Additionally, an estimated 6,600 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Gabriel is 20 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Gabriel
Gabriel is one of only two named archangels in the Hebrew Bible (the other being Michael), appearing in the Book of Daniel to interpret visions and announce the seventy weeks prophecy. In the New Testament Gospel of Luke, Gabriel serves as the heavenly messenger of the Annunciation, appearing first to Zechariah to foretell the birth of John the Baptist and then to the Virgin Mary to announce the birth of Jesus Christ. In Islam, Jibril is the revered angel who revealed the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad.
Gabriel was revered throughout early Christian and medieval European cultures, appearing across liturgical calendars, miracle plays, and fine art masterpieces. In English usage, Gabriel was used steadily since the twelfth century and was revitalized after the Reformation, spreading throughout England, France, Spain, and Latin America.
In the United States, Gabriel has enjoyed consistent popularity across multicultural communities, particularly among Hispanic, Catholic, and Christian families. Climbing steadily throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Gabriel entered the national top thirty in 2007 and peaked at rank 21 in 2010, celebrated for its gentle phonetic cadence and celestial gravitas.
Notable people named Gabriel
- Gabriel García Márquez (1927–2014), Colombian novelist and Nobel laureate in Literature
- Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), Physicist, inventor of the mercury thermometer and Fahrenheit scale
- Gabriel Macht (1972–), American actor and television star
- Gabriel Jesus (1997–), Brazilian professional footballer and Premier League champion
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 105.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 124.
- Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, Charles A. Briggs. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), p. 150.