First Name
17k
in the U.S.
since 1880
Last Name
630
in the U.S.
in 2010
Girls
Boys
On This Page
  1. Related Names
  2. Pronunciation
  3. Meanings and Origins
  4. Notable Persons Named Galen
  5. Notable Persons With the Last Name Galen
  6. Popularity by Year and Gender
  7. Regional Popularity
  8. Ethnicity Distribution
  9. Fun Facts
  10. What Galens Have Visited This Page?
  11. Name Poster

How to Pronounce Galen

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Meaning and Origin

What does the name Galen mean? Find out below.

Origin and Meaning of Galen

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Other Dictionary Sources
  1. Greek anatomist whose theories formed the basis of European medicine until the Renaissance (circa 130-200)
Wiktionary

From Ancient Greek Γαληνός (Galēnós), from γαλήνη (galḗnē, “calm, tranquil”).

  1. An ancient Greek physician.
  2. A male given name, of mostly American usage.

Galen was also found in the following language(s): Luxembourgish

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Notable Persons Named Galen

Galen of Pergamon

Galen of Pergamon was a physician. Galen was born in 129 in Pergamon. He died in 200.

Popularity:
Galen Rupp

Galen was born on May 8th, 1986 in Portland, Oregon.

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Galen Weston

Galen was given the name Willard Gordon Galen Weston on October 29th, 1940 in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

Popularity:
Galen Marek

Galen is also known as Starkiller" / "The Apprentice".

Popularity:
Galen Avery Rowell

Galen Avery Rowell was a photographer, climbing, and climber. Galen was born on August 23rd, 1940 in Oakland, California. He left this life on August 11th, 2002.

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Galen G. Weston

Galen was born on December 19th, 1972 in Dublin.

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Notable Persons With the Last Name Galen

Clemens August Graf von Galen

Clemens August Graf von Galen was a cardinal. Clemens was born on March 16th, 1878. He breathed his last breath on March 22nd, 1946.

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Barry van Galen

Barry van Galen is a soccer player for the HFC Haarlem, Roda JC Kerkrade, NAC Breda, AZ Alkmaar, and Netherlands national football team. Barry was born on April 4th, 1970 in Haarlem.

Popularity:
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How popular is the baby name Galen in the U.S.?

Click Here to Show Chart Data
Year Total Babies Born Girls Born Boys Born
1889 6 0 6
1895 8 0 8
1896 5 0 5
1898 6 0 6
1899 5 0 5
1900 7 0 7
1904 5 0 5
1905 6 0 6
1906 10 0 10
1907 9 0 9
1908 8 0 8
1909 7 0 7
1910 12 0 12
1911 9 0 9
1912 39 0 39
1913 41 0 41
1914 61 0 61
1915 62 0 62
1916 75 0 75
1917 69 0 69
1918 72 0 72
1919 79 0 79
1920 81 0 81
1921 95 0 95
1922 90 0 90
1923 114 0 114
1924 99 0 99
1925 110 0 110
1926 103 0 103
1927 124 0 124
1928 101 0 101
1929 123 0 123
1930 103 0 103
1931 119 0 119
1932 122 0 122
1933 128 0 128
1934 136 0 136
1935 140 0 140
1936 139 0 139
1937 138 0 138
1938 162 5 157
1939 169 0 169
1940 170 0 170
1941 171 0 171
1942 204 0 204
1943 219 15 204
1944 218 5 213
1945 205 7 198
1946 218 7 211
1947 306 7 299
1948 353 11 342
1949 441 8 433
1950 331 6 325
1951 385 7 378
1952 318 14 304
1953 307 14 293
1954 315 8 307
1955 297 5 292
1956 291 7 284
1957 268 6 262
1958 244 0 244
1959 255 8 247
1960 219 0 219
1961 232 5 227
1962 219 5 214
1963 207 6 201
1964 223 8 215
1965 173 9 164
1966 179 6 173
1967 183 9 174
1968 190 8 182
1969 193 6 187
1970 219 7 212
1971 191 0 191
1972 191 6 185
1973 154 0 154
1974 151 13 138
1975 191 8 183
1976 143 5 138
1977 143 8 135
1978 161 7 154
1979 157 5 152
1980 166 9 157
1981 161 11 150
1982 136 10 126
1983 150 8 142
1984 159 8 151
1985 171 12 159
1986 192 8 184
1987 171 8 163
1988 159 12 147
1989 173 12 161
1990 195 19 176
1991 166 10 156
1992 172 24 148
1993 177 25 152
1994 166 15 151
1995 168 16 152
1996 159 16 143
1997 131 17 114
1998 152 19 133
1999 133 11 122
2000 116 0 116
2001 100 6 94
2002 113 10 103
2003 100 7 93
2004 85 0 85
2005 86 6 80
2006 66 0 66
2007 46 0 46
2008 57 0 57
2009 51 0 51
2010 59 0 59
2011 31 0 31
2012 55 0 55
2013 50 0 50
2014 61 0 61
2015 47 0 47
2016 32 0 32
2017 55 0 55
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Where is the name Galen popular?

View popular names by state or region.

Popularity of Galen as a first name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name Galen as a first name in each of the states. See other popular names in Kansas, Maine, or Iowa.

Popularity of Galen as a last name

The map shows the absolute popularity of the name Galen as a last name in each of the states. See other popular names in New York, Pennsylvania, or Maine.

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Common last names for Galen

  • Smith
  • Miller
  • Brown
  • Johnson
  • Jones
  • Williams
  • Wilson
  • Hall
  • Thompson
  • Weaver
  • Harris
  • Foster

Common first names for Galen

Ethnicity Distribution

Ethnicity Galen U.S.
â–ˆ  White 92.38% 64.26%
â–ˆ  African American 1.90% 11.96%
â–ˆ  Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 2.38% 4.85%
â–ˆ  American Indian and Alaska Native 0.00% 0.69%
â–ˆ  Two or More Ethnicities 1.59% 1.76%
â–ˆ  Hispanic or Latino 1.75% 16.26%

Of Last Name Galen

People with the last name Galen are most frequently White

Entire United States

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Fun Facts about the name Galen

  • How Popular is the name Galen? Galen is the 1,852nd most popular name of all time. As a last name Galen was the 35,671st most popular name in 2010.
  • How many people with the first name Galen have been born in the United States? From 1880 to 2017, the Social Security Administration has recorded 16,699 babies born with the first name Galen in the United States. That's more than enough people named Galen to occupy the territory of Anguilla (United Kingdom) with an estimated population of 15,236 (as of July 1, 2011).
  • What year were 5 or more babies first named Galen? The name was first given to 5 or more babies in the year 1889 when it was given as a first name to 6 new born babies.
  • When was Galen first recorded in the United States? The oldest recorded birth by the Social Security Administration for the first name Galen is Saturday, August 8th, 1868.
  • What year had the most people named Galen born? The highest recorded use of the first name Galen was in 1949 with a total of 433 babies.
  • Random Galen Factoid: According to the 1948 U.S. Social Security Administration data, the first name Galen ranks 92nd in popularity as a baby boy's name in Maine. Imagine that, 19 babies in Maine have the same name as you in 1948.
  • Weird things about the name Galen: Your name in reverse order is Nelag. A random rearrangement of the letters in your name (anagram) will give Nleag. How do you pronounce that?
  • How many people have the last name Galen? In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau surveyed 630 people with the last name Galen.
  • How likely are you to meet someone with the last name of Galen? Chances are, most people haven't met someone with Galen as their last name since less than 1 person in 476k people have that last name. If you know one, consider yourself lucky!
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What Galens Have Visited This Page?

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Name poster for Galen

Name poster for Galen(click to save the high quality version)

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All Name Lists

  • Sources:
  • U.S. Census Bureau: Frequently Occurring Surnames from the Census 2000 (public domain).
  • U.S. Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names, Death Master File (public domain).
  • Other Dictionary Sources: WordNet 3.1 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University (License).
  • Wiktionary: Titles and License.
  • Notable persons via Wikipedia: Titles and License. Click each image for the attribution information.