Gasper
Masculine
Gasper is one of the three names traditionally given to the wise men, and the Bible names none of them. It does not say how many there were either. The number three comes from counting the gifts, and the names appear for the first time in a manuscript written five centuries after the event, from which they spread across Europe and never left.
How old is the name Gasper?
Gasper first appears in US birth records in 1907 — 118 years ago. The typical Gasper alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 400 people named Gasper are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gasper most popular?
Gasper peaked in 1917, reaching #919 nationally. See the whole 1917 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From A gospel account with no names and no number to Gasper
The story of Gasper
The gospel account says only that magi came from the east, that they brought three gifts, and that they went home another way. It gives no number, no names, no description and no kingdoms. Everything else accumulated: the number from the gifts, the names from a Greek manuscript of the sixth century known in a Latin translation, the kingships from the medieval liturgy, and the three ages and three continents from later art. By the twelfth century their supposed relics were in Cologne, a cathedral was built to house them, and the names were as familiar as any in Europe. It is one of the clearest examples in Christian tradition of detail filling a vacuum, and every stage of the filling is documented.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No settled origin. The name is usually connected to a Persian or Indian word about treasure, on the reasonable grounds that the figure it belongs to is described as coming from the east, but the connection is a guess made long after the name was in use. Since the name itself was invented for a tradition rather than descending from anybody, an etymology may not exist to be found.
How the name formed
- A gospel account with no names and no number
- Three names appearing in a sixth-century manuscript
- Relics in Cologne and a cathedral built for them
- Gaspar, Caspar and Gasper across Europe
Related forms: Gaspar · Gaspare · Kaspar · Casper
Pronouncing Gasper
GAS-per
Two syllables, stress on the first. The g is hard, following the a, and the name is said identically to the c and k spellings, which differ only in which European tradition they come from.
Nicknames for Gasper
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
- 1907
- Most boys named
- 191748 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #919reached in 1917
- Change vs 2006
- −25.0%6 in 2022, from 8
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.
Gasper in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Gaspar in Spanish — same name
- Gaspare in Italian — same name
- Kaspar in German — same name
- Casper in Dutch — same name
Gaspers among us
people named Gasper are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Gasper sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is a genuine European name with a continuous record of fifteen centuries.
- The sound is straightforward and needs no coaching.
- It carries one of the most familiar stories in the Western tradition.
- The first syllable is an ordinary English noun and children will notice.
- Gaspar and Casper are both commoner and this spelling will be converted.
- The tradition attached to it is not in the text it is supposed to come from.
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What they receive
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Gasper
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Gaspers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Gasper are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Gasper in 2025?
- Gasper is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Gasper with classmates?
- Gasper will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More G names
The most-given names starting with G, all years combined.
George#126 · Gary#1073 · Gregory#593 · Gerald#1204 · Gabriel#37 · Glenn#1443 · Gavin#303 · Gordon#1051
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Gasper? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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