Gem
A precious stone, used as a metaphor for someone valuable and treasured.
Name Census estimates that about 196 living Americans carry the first name Gem. It is a predominantly female name (97.7% of registrations). The average person named Gem today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gem births was 2022 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gem. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Gem with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
196
~ 1 in 1,748,747 Americans
Peak year
2022
18 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,983
Tracked since 1914
Census
Gem in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 656 people with the first name Gem, which placed it at #16,994 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
#16,994
National first-name rank
People counted
656
656 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
31.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gem
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gem is White at 31.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (24.1%). 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 Gem 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 Gem at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White31.6% · 207
- Black or African American29.4% · 193
- Asian and Pacific Islander24.1% · 158
- Hispanic or Latino10.7% · 70
- Two or more races4.1% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Gem
Gem leans heavily female at 97.7% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Gem as a male name
- Ranked #12,983 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 2022 (5 births)
Gem as a female name
- Ranked #14,007 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (14 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Gem on both sides of the split. Of the 660 people counted with this name, 153 were male (23.2%) and 507 were female (76.8%).
Popularity
Gem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gem from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 62 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gem 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 Gem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gem
The name Gem is a modern English name derived from the word "gem" referring to a precious or semi-precious stone. Its origins can be traced back to the Latin word "gemma" meaning a bud or jewel. The name likely emerged in the English language during the late 19th or early 20th century as a given name for girls.
In ancient times, gemstones were highly valued for their beauty, rarity, and believed to possess mystical properties. They were often associated with wealth, power, and even spiritual significance in various cultures. The use of the word "gem" as a name may have been inspired by these positive connotations and the desire to bestow a name that symbolizes something precious and valuable.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gem was in the late 19th century. Gem Littler, an English actress born in 1892, was known for her performances in various plays and pantomimes during the early 20th century.
Another notable bearer of the name was Gem Munro, a Canadian artist and sculptor born in 1905. She is best known for her sculptures depicting the lives of indigenous peoples in Canada, and her work is featured in several museums across the country.
In the world of sports, Gem Naysh was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper for various clubs in the early 20th century, including Fulham and Brentford. He was born in 1893 and played professionally from 1912 to 1928.
Gem Archer, born in 1966, is an English musician and songwriter best known as a founding member and guitarist of the British rock band Oasis. He has also worked with other artists and released solo material.
Gem Schubert, born in 1966, is an Australian artist and designer known for her intricate and detailed drawings and illustrations. Her work has been featured in various exhibitions and publications worldwide, and she has received numerous awards and accolades for her artistic achievements.
While the name Gem is relatively uncommon, it has been used throughout history as a given name for girls, often drawing inspiration from the precious gemstones and their symbolic meanings of beauty, value, and rarity.
People
Gem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gem 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
Gem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 196 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gem 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 1,748,747 US residents.
Is Gem a common name?
We classify Gem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 214 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gem most popular?
The single biggest year for Gem was 2022, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gem is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gem in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 656 people with the name Gem, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,994 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 Gem 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 Gem?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Gem on both sides of the split. Of the 660 people counted with this name, 153 were male (23.2%) and 507 were female (76.8%). 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 Gem?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gem is White at 31.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (24.1%). 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 Gem most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gem in the 2020 Census, accounting for 31.6% (207 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 Gem in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gem a female name?
Yes, 97.7% of people registered as Gem in the SSA data are female. 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 Gem still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gem 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 Gem 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 people are named Gem?
Want to know how many people have the name Gem? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.