Gable
A masculine name of Old German origin meaning "peak" or "summit".
Name Census estimates that about 657 living Americans carry the first name Gable. It is a predominantly male name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Gable today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gable births was 2009 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gable. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
657
~ 1 in 521,696 Americans
Peak year
2009
23 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,502
Tracked since 1909
Census
Gable in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 629 people with the first name Gable, which placed it at #17,509 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#17,509
National first-name rank
People counted
629
629 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gable
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gable is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Black (15.9%) and Hispanic (10.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gable described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gable at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.5% · 412
- Black or African American15.9% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino10.7% · 67
- Two or more races5.4% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Gable
Out of the 792 babies given the name Gable since 1880, 99.2% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Gable as a male name
- Ranked #5,502 in 2024
- 17 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (23 births)
Gable as a female name
- Ranked #15,124 in 2005
- 6 female births in 2005
- Peak: 2005 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gable leans strongly male. 581 people counted with this name were male (91.1%), compared with 57 female bearers (8.9%).
Popularity
Gable: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gable from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 152 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Gable remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gable by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gable during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gables live
Origin
Meaning and history of Gable
The name Gable is believed to be derived from the Old English word "gafol," which means "rent" or "tribute." This suggests that the name may have originated as a descriptive term for someone who collected or paid rent or taxes. The earliest recorded use of the name Gable dates back to the late 12th century in England.
In the Middle Ages, the name Gable appeared in various records and documents across England. It was particularly common in the counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, where it was likely used as a surname or occupational name for those involved in the collection of taxes or rents.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Gable was John Gable, who was born around 1260 in Lincolnshire, England. He was a landowner and farmer who held several properties in the region.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Thomas Gable (1500-1572) was a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of London. He was known for his involvement in the wool trade and his philanthropic efforts, including the establishment of a free school in his hometown.
During the 17th century, the name Gable gained more prominence in the English-speaking world. One notable individual was Sir John Gable (1609-1678), an English politician and Member of Parliament who played a role in the English Civil War.
In the 18th century, the name Gable was associated with several figures in the American colonies. One such individual was Samuel Gable (1723-1802), a German-born American farmer and soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
The 19th century saw the name Gable gain further recognition, particularly in the United States. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Clark Gable (1901-1960), the iconic American actor known for his roles in films such as "Gone with the Wind" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Throughout history, the name Gable has been associated with various professions, including farmers, merchants, politicians, and entertainers. While its origins may have been humble, the name has taken on a sense of strength and resilience over time.
People
Gable + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gable as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gable: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gable?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 657 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gable going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 521,696 US residents.
Is Gable a common name?
We classify Gable as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 792 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gable most popular?
The single biggest year for Gable was 2009, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gable is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gable in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 629 people with the name Gable, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,509 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gable in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gable?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gable leans strongly male. 581 people counted with this name were male (91.1%), compared with 57 female bearers (8.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gable?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gable is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Black (15.9%) and Hispanic (10.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gable most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gable in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.5% (412 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gable in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gable a male name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Gable in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Gable still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gable in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gable can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Gable?
See how many people share the name Gable on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.