Galileo
How to say it: gal-ih-LAY-oh · /ˌɡælɪˈleɪoʊ/
Italian name meaning 'from Galilee' - famed as surname of astronomer Galileo Galilei, rarely used as first name.
Galileo was the 3,333rd most popular boys’ name in the United States in 2025, given to 25 babies (Social Security Administration). The 2020s are its busiest decade so far, its births are down about 14% in ten years, and it is projected to slip to #3,402 by 2030.
Updated · SSA 2025 data, published May 2026 · How we compute these figures
Key facts
| Rank among boys’ names, 2025 | #3,333 |
|---|---|
| Babies born in 2025 | 25 |
| Share of births | 1 in 132,613 |
| Peak decade | 2020s |
| Change over 10 years | −14% |
| Projected rank for 2030 (estimate) | #3,402 |
Sources: Social Security Administration (SSA). How we compute these figures.
Its life, decade by decade
Galileo is climbing: the 2020s are already its best decade.
What goes with it
Nicknames
- Leo
- Gal
Honouring a Galileo in the family
In the classroom
In a class of 25 children born in 2025, the chance that another child is called Galileo is about under 1 in 200.
Around the world
This spelling is used in English, Hebrew, Italian.
Famous people named Galileo
- Galileo Galilei (1564–1642)Italian polymath
- Galileo Ferraris (1847–1897)Italian engineer and physicist
- Galileo Chini (1873–1956)Italian painter
From Wikidata and Wikipedia
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