Meaning & origin
What it means
Gleb is a romanization of Глеб. Глеб goes back to Old Norse Guðleifr, meaning “god's heir.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Scandinavian and Old Norse naming traditions.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2003. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Gleb through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 162
- 162 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2013
- 20 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −90%
- Cooling
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2022. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 606 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.
Gleb’s family of names
In German usage, Gleb has a conventional equivalent in the Russian form Глеб. In Russian usage, Gleb is a Roman-alphabet rendering of Глеб. In Belarusian usage, Gleb is a transliteration of Глеб.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Gleb
- Gleb UspenskyRussian writer (1843-1902)
- Gleb PanfilovSoviet and Russian film director and film screenwriter (1934–2023)
- Gleb PavlovskyRussian political scientist (1951–2023)
- Gleb KrzhizhanovskySoviet economist (1872-1959)
- Gleb GalperinRussian diverborn 1985
- Gleb of KievPrince of Kursk1125–1171
- Gleb WataghinItalian physicist (1899–1986)
- Gleb RetivykhRussian cross-country skierborn 1991
- Gleb VseslavichRussian prince1070–1119
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Gleb, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sixten
“victory”
>99% boys
Torstein
“Thor” · “stone”
>99% boys
Eivin
“luck, good fortune” · “victor, victorious lord”
>99% boys
Eriksson
“son of Erik”
>99% boys
Eyvin
“luck, good fortune” · “victor, victorious lord”
>99% boys
Barrow
“grove”
>99% boys
Auley
Auley is a masculine given name from Old Irish, ultimately from Old Norse. It is used in Manx.
>99% boys
Eivor
“careful”
77% boys · 23% girls