Holding steady.
Popularity of Gaetan since 1930
Babies named Gaetan per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 2002, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Gaetan's real moment was 1930.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1930s | 6 |
| 1940s | 5 |
| 1950s | 24 |
| 1960s | 0 |
| 1970s | 0 |
| 1980s | 6 |
| 1990s | 38 |
| 2000s | 24 |
| 2010s | 10 |
| 2020s | 0 |
Meaning & origin
The name Gaetan is a rare French and Italian variant of Gaëtan, with origins tied to the ancient city of Gaeta in Italy. In the United States, its usage is minimal: according to Social Security data, it first appeared in 1930 but has never entered the top 1000, reflecting a stable but extremely low trajectory. Its peak year was also 1930, and the name has seen no significant revival in recent decades. While it may appeal to families with French or Italian heritage seeking an uncommon traditional name, Gaetan remains a largely obscure choice in American naming conventions.
Gaetan is the French and Italian form of the Latin name Caietanus, a locational name for someone from the ancient city of Gaeta in central Italy. The name was popularized by Saint Gaetano (Thomas Cajetan), a 16th-century Italian Catholic reformer. In French, the name is commonly spelled Gaëtan, but the diacritic is often dropped in English-speaking contexts.
“Gaetan” around the world
Where Gaetan lands in the latest official birth statistics abroad, matched to the U.S. spelling.
France
65
babies in 2024
Sources: INSEE (France).
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Gae, Tan
Variants: Gaëtan, Gaetano, Cajetan
Sibling names for Gaetan
Names that share Gaetan's style, for a brother or sister.
