Gage
Masculine · “either "measurer" or "pledge”
Gage is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 60,809 boys against 246 girls since 1880.
Gage began as an English surname, carried over from Norman French, and it still keeps the shape of the ordinary word it grew from — one syllable, a soft opening and a firm finish, rhyming neatly with page and sage. It has been on the American record for more than a century, quietly at first, then rising with the whole fashion for surnames used up front.
How old is the name Gage?
Gage first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Gage alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 60,000 people named Gage are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gage most popular?
Gage peaked in 2003, reaching #136 nationally. Today it ranks #973, 837 places below that high. See the whole 2003 chart.
Gage appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Old French gauge / gage to Gage
The story of Gage
The word arrived in England with Norman French and settled as a surname, spelled Gage, spreading through medieval English records long before anyone used it as a first name. That crossing to given-name use happened in America, part of the same long habit that turned Mason, Chase and Cooper into names for babies. Stephen King handed the name to a small child in Pet Sematary in the 1980s, which put the sound in wide circulation just as surname-firsts were gathering speed. The climb in the United States followed, strongest in Texas, California and Pennsylvania, and the name has been stepping back gently from that high ground since.
Meaningscholars disagree
either "measurer" or "pledge"
Two serious readings sit behind the surname, both from Old French. One takes it from gauge/jauge, a standard measuring rod — an occupational byname for someone who checked weights and measures or made the instruments. The other takes it from gage, a pledge or surety, the same word behind the gauntlet thrown down as a challenge. Surname scholars have never fully separated the two, and families named Gage may descend from either.
How the name formed
- Old French gauge / gage
- GageEnglish surname
- GageAmerican given name
Related forms: Gauge
Pronouncing Gage
GAYJ
One syllable, rhyming with page. The pronunciation is settled and nobody hesitates over it.
Nicknames for Gage
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1914
- Most boys named
- 20082,854 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #136reached in 2003
- Change vs 2023
- −34.9%235 in 2025, from 361
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Gage in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Gauge in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Pennsylvania.
Gages among us
people named Gage are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 7,268 born in 2025 was named Gage
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Kent test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Gage's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Kent climbed just as high around 1962, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Kent's path sketches the road Gage is walking now.
Gage sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Gage is headed
Gage is easing off slowly — about 29% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Gage beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Gage in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable, said the same way by everyone on first sight — no correcting, no second attempt.
- Over a century on the American record, so it is neither new nor unfamiliar to older ears.
- Sits comfortably in the well-established family of surnames used as first names, alongside Mason, Chase and Cooper.
- Short enough to pair easily with a longer middle name, and it needs no nickname to work day to day.
- The everyday English word is spelled gauge, so expect that version on forms, in emails and from anyone hearing the name before seeing it. Worth deciding early which spelling you will patiently repeat.
- The name belongs to a particular stretch of American taste, and most people carrying it now are young adults rather than children — so it may read as slightly of-its-moment rather than timeless.
- The child in Stephen King's Pet Sematary is a Gage. The association has faded for most people and never touched the name's use much, but readers of horror may make the connection.
- With one hard-ending syllable, it can crowd a short surname. Say the full name aloud a few times before deciding.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Gage to the vote.
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What they receive
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Gage
Masculine · #973 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Gages are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 60,000 people named Gage are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Gage in 2025?
- Gage ranks #973 among US boy names in 2025, with 235 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Gage?
- About 1 in every 7,268 US boys born in 2025 was named Gage — 235 in all.
- Will my child share the name Gage with classmates?
- Gage will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Gage
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Mathew#973 · Kaycen#973 · Quinton#973 · Harlem#970 · Van#970 · Beaux#970 · Azlan#977 · Toby#977
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Gage? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Gage and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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