Given name
Gayla
“a merrymaker; of the festive party”·“a singer”·“woman from Gaul”
Gayla is a variant of Gala. Interpretations include “a merrymaker; of the festive party”, “a singer”, and “woman from Gaul”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Gayla is a variant of Gala. Interpretations include “a merrymaker; of the festive party”, “a singer”, and “woman from Gaul”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Gayla is a variant of Gala. Gala has been associated with French, Scandinavian, and Latin naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1921. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Gayla through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10,844
- 6 boys · 10,838 girls
- Most popular year
- 1954
- 617 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 6 in 2014. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 617 in 1954. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 9,065 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Gayla’s family of names
Gayla has a related form in Gail. Gayla has a related form in Gala.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Similar names
If you love Gayla, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Mala
>99% girls
Lucilla
“one who is illuminated”
>99% girls
Marla
Marla is a feminine given name from Hebrew.
>99% girls
Pamela
“very strange” · “a woman who is as sweet as honey”
>99% girls
Enola
Enola is a feminine given name.
>99% girls
Marsha
“dedicated to Mars, the god of war”
>99% girls
Marita
“star of the sea” · “from the sea of bitterness”
>99% girls
Wanda
“a wanderer”
>99% girls