ninan.org

Gladys

Girls' name · Early 20th-century

Living in the US
~49,200 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#3,211 among girls
Births in 2025
49 267,741 since 1880
Typical age
74 years, median

Gladys popularity over time

Gladys rank by birth year, 1880–2025Gladys ranked #367 in 1880 and #3,211 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #11, in 1901.#10#100#1,000#3,211best #11 in 190118901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

The high point was 1921: 8,837 births recorded as Gladys. It is present from 1880, the first year of the record. Across the record, 49 years put Gladys in the top 100.

The 2025 position is #3,211, on 49 births. The ten-year change is -41%. Year on year the rank improved by 248.

Babies named Gladys per yearPeaks at 8,837 births in 1921.8,837 in 1921018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Gladys?

About 49,200 people named Gladys are alive in the United States today. SSA has recorded 267,741 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Gladys?

Median age among living Gladyss: 74. Most living bearers were born in the 1940s. By the site’s era rules that makes Gladys a early 20th-century name.

Your Gladys

Ages of living people named GladysHalf of living Gladyss are older than 74 and half younger.median 74020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Gladys is most common

Relative to births, California carries 1.4× the national share of Gladyss.

Where Gladys is used more than average1 states use the name Gladys more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: 1.4× the national rateCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Gladys is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
California 95 1.4×

Gladys in England and Wales

ONS recorded 4 births named Gladys in 2025, ranking it #4,867. That is 33% higher than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Gladys comes from

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

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Gladys

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Gladys West American mathematician 1930–2026 37
Gladys Cooper British actress 1888–1971 36
Gladys Knight American singer 1944 35
Gladys George American actress 1900–1954 32
Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka Ugandan scientist 1970 23
Gladys Bentley American blues singer 1907–1960 19
Gladys Zender Peruvian model 1939 19
Gladys Berejiklian Australian politician 1970 19
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 265 in 1989 to 448 in 1990 — 1.7 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/gladys.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).