How to say it
GAEL
/ɡaɪl/
Masculine
Gael
Joyful, or 'Gaelic'
What it means
Modern Spanish-language given name with two competing roots: French gai ('joyful') or the Celtic Gael ('Gaelic person'). Gael García Bernal made the name visible to English-speakers.
Gael is a modern Spanish-language given name with two competing etymologies. The French gai ('joyful, lively') gave us 'gay' in the older English sense; Gael may have come from that root through Catalan or Occitan. Alternately, Gael may derive from Gael as in 'Gaelic person,' linking to Celtic ancestry. In Spanish-speaking countries the name surged in the late 1990s; Gael García Bernal (born 1978), the Mexican actor, is the indelible anchor. Pronounced gah-EL in Spanish, generally as 'gail' in English. It entered the US top 200 in 2018, almost exclusively from Latino families. No common short.
Popularity over time
peaked at #86 in 2025, currently #86 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pronunciation
Spanish gah-EL (two syllables, stress on the second). The English-adapted 'gail' is also accepted. Not the same as 'Gael' meaning a Gaelic person.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Gael García Bernal Mexican actor, Y tu mamá también and The Motorcycle Diaries
Spelling variants
- Gaël
Names with the same feeling
See Gael from another angle
By meaning
By style