How common is the surname Gale?

15,866 people in the United States had the surname Gale in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 19,460 Americans. It ranked 2,296th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Gale?

Zona Gale, American author and playwright (1874-1938), followed by Bob Gale.

Where is the surname Gale most common?

Wikidata records people named Gale in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 1 other country.

Is the surname Gale getting more or less common?

More common. 15,193 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 15,866 in 2010, up 4.4%.

Is Gale also a first name?

Yes. Gale is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Gale

A surname, carried by 15,866 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex G400 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Gale is more common than 98.6% of them.

Origin

A surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 15,866 people named Gale in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 19,460 Americans. That is up 4.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 15,193.

#2,296

rank among US surnames

15,866

people in 2010

5.4

per 100,000 Americans

+4.4%

change since 2000 (was #2,197)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,287	Yoon	15,936	19,374
#2,288	Mast	15,932	19,379
#2,289	Espinal	15,924	19,389
#2,290	Ibrahim	15,915	19,400
#2,291	Dietrich	15,904	19,413
#2,292	Bruner	15,898	19,420
#2,293	Valdivia	15,895	19,424

Who is named Gale

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

83% of people named Gale identified as white (not Hispanic), 10% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 83%
Black (not Hispanic) 10%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.4%
Two or more races 2.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Gales

18 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Zona Gale
American author and playwright (1874-1938)
Bob Gale
American screenwriter, producer and film director, born 1951
Tristan Gale
American skeleton racer, born 1980
Garrett Weber-Gale
American swimmer, born 1985
Megan Gale
Australian model (born 1975)
David Gale
American mathematician (1921–2008)
Richard Nelson Gale
British Army World War II general (1896–1982)
Ed Gale
American actor, 1963–2025
June Gale
American actress (1911-1996)
Eric Gale
American jazz guitarist (1938–1994)
Jean Gale
American vaudeville performer (1912–1974)
Thierry Gale
Association football player, born 2002

Notable Gales come mostly from the United States (15), Australia (1) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Gale

Gale has the Soundex code G400, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G400.

Questions

How common is the surname Gale?: 15,866 people in the United States had the surname Gale in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 19,460 Americans. It ranked 2,296th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Gale?: In the 2010 Census, 83% of people named Gale identified as white (not Hispanic), and 10% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Gale?: Zona Gale, American author and playwright (1874-1938), followed by Bob Gale.
Where is the surname Gale most common?: Wikidata records people named Gale in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 1 other country.
Is the surname Gale getting more or less common?: More common. 15,193 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 15,866 in 2010, up 4.4%.
Is Gale also a first name?: Yes. Gale is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.