Gladys

Did you know?

A few things about Gladys you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Gladys

Gladys West

American mathematician (1930–2026)

Choose Gladys and your child shares a first name with Gladys West, an American mathematician. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Gladys, like who?” Gladys West's Wikipedia article is available in 37 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Gladys West on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Adrian Cadiz, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 32,787 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Gladys, 49 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Gladys would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryGladys has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Gladyss, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1901, when it ranked #11. Today it's #3,211, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowGladys was 3.3× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 9,872 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 32,787.
• 🍂TrendGladys has slipped 934 places over the last five years and now sits at #3,211. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.

About the name Gladys

Gladys is a girl name of Anglo Saxon, Celtic and Irish origin. It has 6 letters and 2 syllables, starting with G and ending in “-dys”. US birth records list Gladys for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1901, when it ranked #11 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #3,211, with 49 babies.

Origin:Anglo Saxon namesCeltic namesIrish namesLatin namesWelsh names