Humanverse

Gaither vs Gaius

American parents have registered 648 Gaithers since 1880, against 529 Gaiuses. But in 2025 it was Gaius that was commoner, 31 babies to fewer than five.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Gaither against Gaius, 1880 to 2025 0 13 25 38 50 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Gaither Gaius

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 85 years in which either name was published, Gaither for 59 years and Gaius for 26 years. The lead changed hands 5 times.

Side by side

  Gaither Gaius
Total US births 648529
Most in one year 2142
Babies in 2025 under 531
Estimated living today 160490
Median age today 7310
Peak year 19182014
Best rank 1,648th boys2,805th boys
Rank in 2025 unranked3,583rd
First recorded 18951920
Girls / boys 6 / 6420 / 529

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Gaithers alive today are over 73; half the Gaiuses are over 10. That is 63 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Where each one is strongest

How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Gaither and Gaius.