Gloria
Masculine · “glory”
Gloria is given to girls far more often — 415,281 girls against 1,737 boys since 1880. See Gloria as a girl 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 1921 — 104 years ago. The typical Gloria alive today was born around 1948, making them about 77 years old. About 900 people named Gloria are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gloria most popular?
Gloria peaked in 1940, reaching #872 nationally. See the whole 1940 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
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
- 1921
- Most boys named
- 194052 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #872reached in 1940
- Change vs 1996
- 0.0%5 in 1997, from 5
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
Glorias among us
people named Gloria 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
Gloria 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
- 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.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Gloria
Masculine
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 900 people named Gloria are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Gloria in 2025?
- Gloria is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Gloria with classmates?
- Gloria 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 Gloria? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Gloria and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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