# Gladys (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/gladys/  
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 | girls |
| Origin | Welsh |
| Meaning | “country” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɡlædɪs/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Glad |
| Variant spellings | Gwladys |
| US babies named this | 267,741 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,023 / 266,718 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 96, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Anglicized from Welsh Gwladus, of uncertain origin, perhaps connected with gwlad (“country”).

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 81 | 2,306 |
| 2012 | 81 | 2,322 |
| 2013 | 69 | 2,578 |
| 2014 | 74 | 2,453 |
| 2015 | 83 | 2,265 |
| 2016 | 72 | 2,508 |
| 2017 | 73 | 2,472 |
| 2018 | 45 | 3,454 |
| 2019 | 64 | 2,693 |
| 2020 | 78 | 2,293 |
| 2021 | 62 | 2,760 |
| 2022 | 64 | 2,709 |
| 2023 | 61 | 2,796 |
| 2024 | 45 | 3,473 |
| 2025 | 49 | 3,224 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 9 | 2,684 |
| 1951 | 5 | 3,910 |
| 1952 | 5 | 3,945 |
| 1954 | 9 | 2,822 |
| 1955 | 6 | 3,654 |
| 1956 | 5 | 4,155 |
| 1958 | 5 | 4,164 |
| 1959 | 6 | 3,749 |
| 1963 | 6 | 3,784 |
| 1970 | 5 | 4,993 |
| 1976 | 5 | 5,915 |
| 1981 | 6 | 5,760 |
| 1983 | 5 | 6,633 |
| 1987 | 6 | 6,390 |
| 1991 | 5 | 8,665 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 4 | 4,157 |
| 2007 | 4 | 4,294 |
| 2008 | 4 | 4,524 |
| 2009 | 4 | 4,564 |
| 2010 | 6 | 3,533 |
| 2011 | 8 | 2,893 |
| 2013 | 6 | 3,536 |
| 2015 | 6 | 3,615 |
| 2016 | 4 | 4,763 |
| 2017 | 5 | 4,063 |
| 2019 | 6 | 3,541 |
| 2020 | 3 | 5,493 |
| 2021 | 3 | 5,581 |
| 2023 | 8 | 2,927 |
| 2025 | 4 | 4,867 |

## People named Gladys

- Gladys West, American mathematician (1930–2026)
- Gladys Knight, American singer (born 1944)
- Gladys Cooper, British actress (1888-1971)
- Gladys George, American actress (1904–1954)
- Gladys Bentley, American blues singer
- Gladys Berejiklian, Australian politician
- Gladys Egan, actress (1900-1985)
- Gladys Brockwell, American actress (1893-1929)
- Gladys Pyle, American politician (1890-1989)
- Gladys Davis, fencer (1893–1965)
- Gladys Marín, Chilean activist (1937-2005)
- Gladys Emerson, American historian, biochemist and nutritionist (1903–1984)

## 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.