Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 1999

Gillian

Meaning A female given name from Latin Gender Girl Rank 2025 #3,307 Trend ↓ Falling 22%

A female given name from Latin; Medieval variant of Julian and Juliana, revived and quite popular in Britain in the mid-twentieth century.

Rank 2025
#3,307
among girls · ↓214 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
47
named Gillian · -10% vs 2024
How common
1 in 34,197
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1999
1,030 babies
All-time total
16,127
#1,223 all-time among girls
First recorded
1922
in Social Security records

Gillian popularity over time

16,127 babies have been named Gillian since 1922, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s 5 – 5 1 – #5,306
1930s 12 – 12 1 +140% #3,982
1940s 128 – 128 13 +967% #2,031
1950s 234 – 234 23 +83% #1,897
1960s 758 – 758 76 +224% #946
1970s 1,329 8 1,337 134 +76% #847
1980s 2,384 15 2,399 240 +79% #671
1990s 4,152 20 4,172 417 +74% #303
2000s 5,489 14 5,503 550 +32% #325
2010s 1,263 11 1,274 127 -77% #1,154
2020s (to 2025) 305 – 305 51 -60% #3,069

Where Gillian is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 45 0.03 outside top 500
2027 43 0.03 outside top 500
2028 42 0.03 outside top 500
2029 41 0.03 outside top 500
2030 40 0.02 outside top 500

The story of Gillian

Gillian is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #3,307 in 2025 with 47 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1922, 16,127 American babies have been named Gillian. Its peak came in 1999, when 1,030 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Gillian stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Gillian?

The median living Gillian is about 26 years old; half are between 22 and 38. An estimated 16 thousand people named Gillian are alive in the United States today.

median 26 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Gillian year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 47 #3,307 – –
2024 52 #3,093 – –
2023 51 #3,199 – –
2022 52 #3,135 – –
2021 51 #3,174 – –
2020 52 #3,069 – –
2019 59 #2,834 – –
2018 88 #2,151 – –
2017 81 #2,289 – –
2016 105 #1,915 6 #11,191
2015 120 #1,746 – –
2014 125 #1,686 – –
2013 120 #1,730 – –
2012 166 #1,392 – –
2011 188 #1,267 – –
2010 211 #1,154 5 #12,916
2009 251 #1,038 – –
2008 339 #835 – –
2007 366 #790 – –
2006 362 #759 8 #8,997
2005 420 #661 – –
2004 513 #556 – –
2003 638 #467 – –
2002 761 #388 – –
2001 863 #348 – –
2000 976 #325 6 #9,506
1995 221 #871 – –
1990 238 #822 7 #6,681
1985 234 #738 – –
1980 173 #886 – –
1975 100 #1,155 – –
1970 125 #998 – –
1965 82 #1,190 – –
1960 19 #2,846 – –
1955 29 #1,994 – –
1950 18 #2,377 – –
1945 13 #2,515 – –
1940 7 #3,634 – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Gillian

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Gillian Anderson Gillian Anderson American actress and writer (born 1968) Contemporary
  2. 2 Gillian Jacobs Gillian Jacobs American actress (born 1982) Contemporary
  3. 3 Gillian Flynn Gillian Flynn American writer (born 1971) Contemporary
  4. 4 Gillian Welch Gillian Welch American musician (born 1967) Contemporary
  5. 5 Gillian Gilbert Gillian Gilbert English musician (born 1961) Contemporary
  6. 6 Gillian Vigman American actress and comedian b. 1972 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Gillian Chung Gillian Chung Hong Kong actress and singer (born 1981) Contemporary
  8. 8 Gillian Armstrong Gillian Armstrong Australian film director (born 1950) Contemporary
  9. 9 Gillian Rubinstein English-Australian children's author and playwright (born 1942) Contemporary
  10. 10 Gillian Carleton Canadian cyclist (born 1989) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Gillian, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Gillian?

The median living Gillian is about 26 years old. Half of all living Gillians are between 22 and 38 years old.

How many people named Gillian are alive today?

An estimated 16 thousand people named Gillian are alive in the United States, based on 16,127 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Gillian mean?

A female given name from Latin; Medieval variant of Julian and Juliana, revived and quite popular in Britain in the mid-twentieth century.

How popular is the name Gillian in 2025?

Gillian ranked #3,307 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 47 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Gillian?

16,127 babies have been named Gillian in the United States since 1922, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Gillian most popular?

Gillian peaked in 1999, when 1,030 newborns received the name.

Is Gillian a boy or girl name?

Gillian is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Gillian rising or falling?

Gillian is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Gillian become more popular?

Gillian is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 40 girls named Gillian in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Gillian?

Well-known people named Gillian include Gillian Anderson (actor), Gillian Jacobs (actor), Gillian Flynn (writer).

Names like Gillian

Names that sound and feel close to Gillian: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Gillian with similar names → More names starting with G →