nametree
← Gladisbrowse · build a nametreeGleb →

Gladys

girl name
Origin
Welsh
Syllables
2
Peak era
1900s/1920s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Gladys and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

princess

How popular is Gladys around the world?

In the United States, 359 babies were named Gladys between 2020 and 2025. In Chile, 14 girls were registered as Gladys in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

Gladys is on the official records of the United States, Chile, Spain, Montevideo, Argentina, France, Brazil and England and Wales.

United States

1 in 61,000

In the United States, 359 babies were named Gladys between 2020 and 2025.

peak 1900s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Gladys peaked in the 1900s and the 1920s in nearly equal measure. Gladys went to 72,812 US babies in the 1920s, its high point before 1940, and to 1,104 across the 2010s and 2020s together.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Chile

1 in 13,000

In Chile, 14 girls were registered as Gladys in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 19472021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

See the full list for Chile →

Spain

1 in 18,000

In Spain, 2,431 residents are named Gladys, the 803rd most common name among women, with a mean age of 54.8 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

See the full list for Spain →

Montevideo City

1 in 25,000 · 2011

In Montevideo, 1 girl named Gladys was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.

peak 19412011

share of that year’s births on record

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

See the full list for Montevideo →

Argentina

1 in 51,000

In Argentina, 13 newborns were given the name Gladys in 2024.

peak 20142024

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

See the full list for Argentina →

France

1 in 64,000

In France, about 10 girls named Gladys were born in 2025, ranked 2,570th among girls that year.

1900peak 19752025

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

Brazil

1 in 110,000

At the 2022 census, 1,916 people in Brazil were named Gladys, ranked 5,256th, with a median age of 57.
Among people named Gladys living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.

1930speak 1960s2000s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

See the full list for Brazil →

England and Wales

1 in 150,000

In England and Wales, 4 girls named Gladys were born in 2025, ranked 4,867th among girls that year.
The count never rose above 8 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

See the full list for England and Wales →

Austria

last on record 2018

Gladys 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 2 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)

See the full list for Austria →

Canada

last on record 2021

Gladys is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.

peak 19932024

share of that year’s name registrations

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)

See the full list for Canada →

Ireland

last on record 2008

Gladys is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

See the full list for Ireland →

Mexico City City

last on record 2021

Gladys is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.

peak 20002022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

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

See the full list for Mexico City →

New Zealand

last on record 1984

Gladys is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.

peak 19022025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Puerto Rico

last on record 2009

Gladys is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 51 babies have carried the name there since 1998.

peak 20012025

share of that year’s births on record

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

South Australia

last on record 2016

Gladys is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.

peak 19462017

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

Not on the record in Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Gladys

Most people given the name Gladys in the United States were born between 1940 and 1979. The Gladys you meet today is most often in her 60s or 70s.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Gladys

Winifred Rowena Evelyn Muriel Imogene Iona

Keep exploring

Chinese American baby names · The hundred-year rule

The Gladys deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Gladys 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 Gladys fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

Does Gladys fit YOUR family?

nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.

Add Gladys to your family’s tree →
BROWSEAll traditions👶 Baby namesAround the worldAll names🔍 Search a nameName storiesThree-letter namesShort namesVintage revivalsGender-neutralPolishJapaneseCantoneseIrishKoreanIndianMexican American
🌐English ✓EspañolPortuguês
nametree on your phoneDownload on the App StoreGet it on Google Play