Galileo
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Meaning
of Galilee (from the family name Galilei); famously borne by Galileo Galilei, astronomer who championed the heliocentric model and improved the telescope
The story
Galileo means of Galilee, drawn from the family name Galilei, and in Italy it belongs almost entirely to one man: Galileo Galilei, the Pisan astronomer who turned an improved telescope to the night sky in 1609, found moons circling Jupiter and mountains on our own Moon, and championed the idea that the Earth moves around the Sun, a stand that brought him before the Roman Inquisition and into house arrest for his final years. His first name became shorthand for scientific courage itself. As an American baby name Galileo has always been a rarity, showing its first small stirrings only in the most recent records, which makes it something close to a blank page: a grand, musical Italian name that a child would almost certainly have entirely to themselves.
How popular is Galileo around the world?
In the United States, 197 babies were named Galileo between 2020 and 2025. In Argentina, 35 newborns were given the name Galileo in 2024.
Galileo is on the official records of the United States, Argentina, Mexico City, Canada and Spain.
United States
1 in 110,000
In the United States, 197 babies were named Galileo between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Galileo has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Argentina
1 in 19,000
In Argentina, 35 newborns were given the name Galileo in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Mexico City City
1 in 59,000
In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Galileo in 2022.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Canada
1 in 73,000
In Canada, 5 boys named Galileo were born in 2024, ranked 3,231st among boys that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Spain
1 in 740,000
In Spain, 61 residents are named Galileo, ranked 12,330th among men, with a mean age of 28.6 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Austria
last on record 2020
Galileo is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
England and Wales
last on record 2011
Galileo is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Montevideo City
last on record 2000
Galileo is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Not on the record in Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the South Australia record for 1944 to 2017: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Galileo
Most people given the name Galileo in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Galileo deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Galileo truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Galileo fits with your family’s names and surname.
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