Galilee
Galilee was the 3735th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 40 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 2771st with 62 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,616 places. More babies were named Galilee in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Galilea) Galilee (Spanish) · Spanish, Hebrew
- Rank in 2025
- #3,735 girls, down 219 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 40girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 202362 babies
- Total since 1880
- 648babies recorded
What does the name Galilee mean?
Galilee is a spelling of Galilea, pronounced the same way, so it shares Galilea's meaning and origin.
Galilea is the Spanish and Italian name for Galilee, the hilly region of northern Israel known from the Gospels. Wiktionary's Dutch entry traces the place name through Medieval Latin Galilea and Greek Galilaia to Hebrew galil. In Spanish it is stressed on the next-to-last syllable, gah-lee-LEH-ah. As a girls' name Galilea is recent in the US, where records show it from 1993.
גָּלִיל (Biblical Hebrew, “Galil (source of the place name)”)Γαλιλαία (Ancient Greek, “Galilee”)
How sure is this? Probable. The place-name chain is from Wiktionary; it does not gloss the Hebrew word.
Related names: Galilee, Galila.
See also: Hebrew names, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Galilea' (Spanish section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Galilea' (Dutch section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Galilee popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,735 | 40 |
| 2020 | #3,516 | 43 |
| 2010 | #8,031 | 15 |
| 2000 | — | — |
| 1990 | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Galilee, counting every spelling?
Galilee is a spelling of Galilea, a name family that ranked #593 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #3,735 for Galilee on its own. Together these spellings went to 503 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galilea | 446 | #647 | 2,117 |
| Galilee | 40 | #3,735 | 242 |
| Galileah | 17 | #6,631 | 87 |
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 Galilee?
40 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Galilee (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Galilee 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 210 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Galilee.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Galilee?
About 600 people born in the US named Galilee are alive today, with a median age of 7; half are between 4 and 12. That makes Galilee a young name: most people with it are children.
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.
Galilee by state
How common Galilee was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 48 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Galilee: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Galilee, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Galilee
What does Galilee mean?
Galilee is a spelling of Galilea, which means “Galilee (Spanish)” (Spanish, Hebrew origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Galilee?
Galilee was the 3735th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 40 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 2771st with 62 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,616 places. More babies were named Galilee in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Galilee a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Galilee in the US.
Where is Galilee most popular?
In 2021–2025, Galilee was most common in Texas (0.03 per 1,000 girls), followed by California and Florida.