Given name & surname
Galen
“a healer; one who is calm”
Galen is used as a given name and a surname. One Greek interpretation is “a healer; one who is calm.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Greek interpretation is “a healer; one who is calm.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
How it developed
In English usage, Galen as a surname developed from van Galen.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1889. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Galen through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 17,060
- 16,500 boys · 560 girls
- Most popular year
- 1949
- 441 babies
- 2025
- 23
- #4,442 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −14%
- Easing
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 100% boys.
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 23 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,442 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 14.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 433 in 1949. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 11,997 as a first name in 2020; 668 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Galen’s family of names
Galen has a feminine form in Galena. Galen has a related form in Gaylon. Galen has a related form in Gaylen.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 21
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Galen
- Galen RuppAmerican distance runnerborn 1986
- Galen SpencerAmerican archer (1840–1904)
- Galen ClarkCanadian-born American conservationist, writer and botanist (1814 – 1910)
- Galen YoungAmerican basketball player (1975–2021)
- Tolu SmithAmerican basketball player (born 2000)
- Galen GeringAmerican actorborn 1971
- Galen D. StuckyAmerican chemistborn 1936
- Galen StrawsonBritish philosopherborn 1952
- Galen RathbunAmerican zoologist (1944–2019)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Galen, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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