Given name & surname

Gila

“one who is forever joyous”

Gila is used as a given name and a surname. One Hebrew interpretation is “one who is forever joyous.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

One Hebrew interpretation is “one who is forever joyous.”

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1920. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Gila through the years

Babies since 1880
640
0 boys · 640 girls
Most popular year
1973
16 babies
2025
9
#10,375 for girls
2021–25 vs 2016–20
−10%
Easing
051015192019401960198020002025Highest share 19735.6
Gila in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1920–2025, per million girls born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 9 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 10,375 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 10.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 879 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.

Gila’s family of names

Gila has a related form in Gili. Gila has a related form in Geela. Gila has a related form in Geelah.

Walk Gila’s family in the name graph

GilaGylaGilanaGiliGiliaGilahGillaGilatGeelaGilitGillahGeelahGilalGilala

Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 12

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

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Spellings & scripts 1

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Similar names

If you love Gila, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Hebrew · Biblical

Shelah

“missionary” · “emissary”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Hebrew

Kiva

“protected by God”

21RareRising

5% boys · 95% girls

Irish

Shawna

“God is gracious”

15Very rareCooling

>99% girls

Hebrew · Biblical

Tiria

“reverence” · “fear”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Hebrew · Biblical

Telah

“fracture”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Hebrew · Nickname-names

Susannah

“resembling a graceful white lily”

35RareEasing

>99% girls

Biblical Hebrew · Biblical

Tommi

Tommi is a masculine given name from Biblical Hebrew. It is used in Finnish.

28RareRising

2% boys · 98% girls

Hebrew · Literary

Janna

“God is gracious”

37RareSteady

>99% girls

Sibling ideas

Names that share Gila’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Gila

A sister for Gila