Gage
Gage was the 973rd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 235 babies. Its best year was 2003, when it ranked 136th with 2,939 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 731 places. More babies were named Gage in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning measure; or pledge (English surname) · English, French
Say it GAYJ /ɡeɪdʒ/
- Rank in 2025
- #973 boys, down 498 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 235boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20032,939 babies
- Total since 1880
- 61,055babies recorded
What does the name Gage mean?
Gage is an English occupational surname. Wiktionary gives two sources: Middle English gage, a measure, for an assayer who checked weights and measures, or gage, a pledge, for a moneylender. The American Heritage Dictionary traces gauge to an Old North French word of Germanic origin. As a modern boys' name Gage has been used in the US since 1914 and was most common in the early 2000s.
gage (Middle English, “measure; pledge”)
How sure is this? Probable. Two possible occupational senses.
See also: English names, names from occupations.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Gage' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., entry 'gauge' (etymology), HarperCollins / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Gage popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 246 since 1991.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #973 | 235 |
| 2020 | #475 | 629 |
| 2010 | #152 | 2,564 |
| 2000 | #166 | 2,348 |
| 1990 | #360 | 667 |
| 1980 | #3,000 | 15 |
| 1970 | #3,620 | 8 |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Gage, counting every spelling?
Gage is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #857 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #973 for Gage on its own. Together these spellings went to 269 boys in 2025.
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Gage?
235 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Gage (0.07 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Gage born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 36 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Gage.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Gage?
About 59,700 people born in the US named Gage are alive today, with a median age of 20; half are between 15 and 26. That makes Gage mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Gage by state
How common Gage was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Minnesota (1.9×), Iowa (1.9×), Missouri (1.8×), Ohio (1.8×), Kentucky (1.7×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Gage: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Gage, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Gage · Sibling names for Gage
Questions about the name Gage
What does Gage mean?
Gage means “measure; or pledge (English surname)” (English, French origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Gage?
Gage was the 973rd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 235 babies. Its best year was 2003, when it ranked 136th with 2,939 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 731 places. More babies were named Gage in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Gage a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Gage in the US.
Where is Gage most popular?
In 2021–2025, Gage was most common in North Dakota (0.47 per 1,000 boys), followed by Minnesota and Iowa.