# Gaylord (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/gaylord/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “strong”, “dashing”, “strapping”, “gallant” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɡeɪˌlɔɹd/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 6,091 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 6,086 / 5 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

Derived from the Old French surname Gaillard (from gaillard (“strong”)), via Anglo-Norman. Compare Spanish Gallardo (from gallardo (“dashing, strapping, gallant”). Shaped by folk etymology into gay + lord.

## What it means

Gaylord is grouped under strong.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1942 | 5 | 4,881 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 14 | 2,961 |
| 1978 | 8 | 4,291 |
| 1979 | 9 | 4,186 |
| 1980 | 11 | 3,702 |
| 1981 | 10 | 3,946 |
| 1982 | 8 | 4,747 |
| 1983 | 14 | 3,128 |
| 1984 | 9 | 4,325 |
| 1985 | 9 | 4,447 |
| 1987 | 8 | 5,128 |
| 1988 | 11 | 4,270 |
| 1990 | 7 | 6,675 |
| 1992 | 5 | 8,884 |
| 1994 | 5 | 9,300 |
| 1998 | 5 | 10,158 |

## People named Gaylord

- Gaylord Simpson, American paleontologist (1902–1984)
- Gaylord Nelson, American politician (1916–2005)
- Gaylord Perry, American Hall of Fame baseball player (1938–2022)
- Chad Smith, American drummer
- Gailard Sartain, American actor (1943–2025)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.