Galileo
Masculine · “of Galilee”
Galileo means of Galilee, and the astronomer's given name came from a family surname — his ancestor was Galileo Galilei, physician, and the name ran in the family.
How old is the name Galileo?
Galileo first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Galileo is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Galileo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Galileo most popular?
Galileo peaked in 2022, reaching #2873 nationally. Today it ranks #4139, 1,266 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From galil to Galileo
The story of Galileo
Galileo Galilei was named after a fifteenth-century ancestor, in the Tuscan habit of giving the eldest son a name matching the family surname. He turned a telescope on Jupiter in 1610, found four moons, and published what he saw; the consequences occupied the rest of his life. The name's use is Italian and rare, and it appears in American records in very small numbers.
Meaning
of Galilee
From Latin Galilaeus, of Galilee, from Hebrew galil, a district or circuit; the region's name means something like the circuit of the nations. Italian took Galileo as a personal name and then as a surname.
How the name formed
- galil
- Galilaeus
- Galileo
Related forms: Galileo · Galil · Galileo
Pronouncing Galileo
gah-lee-LEH-oh
Four syllables with the stress on the third. English speakers say gal-uh-LAY-oh.
Nicknames for Galileo
Moderate
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
- 1915
- Most boys named
- 202244 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2873reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- −24.2%25 in 2025, from 33
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.
Galileo in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Galileo in Italian — same name
- Galil in Hebrew — related form
- Galileo in Spanish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Galileos among us
people named Galileo are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 68,323 born in 2025 was named Galileo
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 Blythe test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Galileo's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Blythe climbed just as high around 1941, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Blythe's path sketches the road Galileo is walking now.
Galileo 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 Galileo is headed
Galileo should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Galileo beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Galileo in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning tied to a real region with a documented name history.
- Leo is a complete short form in very current use.
- One of the most consequential figures in the history of science stands behind it.
- Seven letters and four syllables is a great deal for early handwriting.
- The astronomer is the whole of the association and it is a large one.
- The English and Italian pronunciations differ at several vowels.
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What they receive
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Galileo
Masculine · #4139 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Galileos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Galileo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Galileo in 2025?
- Galileo ranks #4139 among US boy names in 2025, with 25 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Galileo?
- About 1 in every 68,323 US boys born in 2025 was named Galileo — 25 in all.
- Will my child share the name Galileo with classmates?
- Galileo will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Galileo
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Mose#4139 · Lucious#4139 · Karsten#4139 · Nikita#4139 · Hasani#4139 · Jomar#4139 · Fionn#4139 · Earnest#4139
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Galileo? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Galileo and another name?
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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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