Gloria
Feminine · “glory”
Gloria is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 415,281 girls against 1,737 boys since 1880. See Gloria as a boy name
This was a word and not a name until a playwright used it for a character. It had been in every Latin mass for centuries and on every monument, and nobody had given it to a daughter; a comedy of the eighteen-nineties put it on a young woman with opinions, and within a generation it was in the birth records.
How old is the name Gloria?
Gloria first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Gloria alive today was born around 1946, making them about 79 years old. About 242,000 people named Gloria are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gloria most popular?
Gloria peaked in 1925, reaching #20 nationally. Today it ranks #654, 634 places below that high. See the whole 1925 chart.
Where it comes from
From gloria to Gloria
The story of Gloria
The Latin word has no agreed etymology, which is unusual for something so common. Words that turn up constantly in a language are normally the easiest to trace, because they leave relatives everywhere; this one does not. No convincing Indo-European root has been proposed, the connections offered to words about hearing and about fame do not hold up, and the standard reference works mark it uncertain. A word that a civilization used for its highest praise, in its liturgy and on its arches, came from somewhere nobody can point to.
Meaning
glory
The Latin noun, taken whole. It is one of the abstract nouns English adopted directly rather than adapting, and its sense has not shifted at all.
How the name formed
- gloria
- Gloria
Related forms: Gloria · Gloria · Glória
Pronouncing Gloria
GLOR-ee-uh
Three syllables with the stress at the front. Spanish and Italian say it almost identically, which makes the name stable across languages.
Nicknames for Gloria
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
- 1881
- Most girls named
- 194811,690 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #20reached in 1925
- Change vs 2022
- −7.0%437 in 2025, from 470
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.
Gloria in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Gloria in Spanish — same name
- Gloria in Italian — same name
- Glória in Portuguese — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Glorias among us
people named Gloria are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 3,678 born in 2025 was named Gloria
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 Gertrude test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Gloria's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Gertrude climbed just as high around 1906, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Gertrude's path sketches the road Gloria is walking now.
Gloria 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 Gloria is headed
Gloria should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Gloria beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Gloria in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is transparent and needs no explaining in any European language.
- It is recognized everywhere with essentially no change of spelling.
- The rhythm is even and the name carries well.
- Its peak was very concentrated and the name dates its bearer.
- It is a large word to hand to a child.
- The record holds a few boys as well, and the boy is much the smaller side.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Gloria to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Gloria
Feminine · #654 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Glorias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 242,000 people named Gloria are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Gloria in 2025?
- Gloria ranks #654 among US girl names in 2025, with 437 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Gloria?
- About 1 in every 3,678 US girls born in 2025 was named Gloria — 437 in all.
- Will my child share the name Gloria with classmates?
- Gloria will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Gloria
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eileen#654 · Miranda#654 · Rosa#652 · Alara#652 · Irene#651 · Hana#657 · Aleena#657 · Andie#650
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Gloria? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Gloria and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Or jump into a head-to-head
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
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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