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Gem

#11,262 in 2025Girls' name

Jewel, through Gemma

Gem has been given to 222 babies in the U.S. since 1914. In 2025 it ranked #11,262 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2016, with 14 recorded.

Babies named Gem, 2025

1 in 414,000

Gem over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
05101518801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Gem: meaning, origin, and history

Jewel, through Gemma

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Gem means

Gem belongs to the name family reached through Gem → Gemma. Its meaning is “jewel”.

Origin, language, and formation

Gem is used in English.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Gemma.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Gem is pronounced /d͡ʒɛm/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 217 girls were recorded with the name Gem between 1914 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 14 in 2016; its best national rank was #3,849 in 1914.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #10,547 in 2020 to #11,262 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #12,215 in 2015 to #11,262 in 2025.

In the United States, 5 boys were recorded with the name Gem between 2022 and 2022. Its highest annual count was 5 in 2022; its best national rank was #12,985 in 2022.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Gem?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 414,000
8 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 201,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#11,262
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
287,238 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Gem sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 287,238 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Gem. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Gems were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Gem was born before 2014 — so the typical Gem is around 11 today.

Median birth year
2014
About 11 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
28.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
67.3%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
206
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 28.6% of all recorded uses (62).

Is Gem rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+2,787
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−715
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
+953
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.00×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
57.1%
Peak was 2016 (14)
Years since peak
9
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
29.5% average annual change
Best rank ever
#3,849
1914

Gem around the world

Where Gem ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2007–2012
    #5,876
    in 2012
  • South Australia
    1949–2002
    #730
    in 2002

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Gem by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#11,262
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 715
Best rank ever
#3,849
1914
Peak year
2016
14 that year
First recorded
1914
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
217
Count in 2025
8

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#12,985
2022
Peak year
2022
5 that year
First recorded
2022
Last recorded
2022
All-time count
5
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Gem

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

GeminiGemaGemmaleeGemiaGemmaGemiseGemiahGeminisGemelliGemmalynn

Sibling names for Gem

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Gem

Top names of 2016, Gem's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 1914Girls' names starting with GGemstone Names