Gail is a masculine and feminine given name. As a feminine name, it can be a short form of the Biblical name

Abigail Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death ( 1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later marri ...

. Gail has been used as a masculine and feminine name, and until the 1930s, was equally rare on either sex. Between the 1930s and 1960s its use as a feminine name increased, as a consequence marginalizing masculine usage by about 1960. Alternate spellings include Gaile,

Gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Gayle. Notable people with the given name include: *

Gail Boggs Gail Charlene Boggs (born August 10, 1951) is an American actress. She played Louise Brown in the 1990 film ''Ghost''. Career Gail Boggs, the daughter of Willie Boggs, a tree surgeon, and Alice, a dietitian, described having always dreamed of b ...

(born 1951), American actress *

Gail Borden Gail Borden Jr. (November 9, 1801 – January 11, 1874) was a native New Yorker who settled in Texas in 1829 (then still Mexico), where he worked as a land surveyor, newspaper publisher, and inventor. He created a process in 1853 to make sweet ...

(1801–1874), American inventor *

Gail Borden (figure skater) Gail Borden II (February 19, 1907 – September 11, 1991) was a 1932 Olympic figure skater in men's singles for the United States, and also placed in the World Figure Skating Championships of 1930 and 1934. He later became a radio and television fi ...

(1907–1991), American figure skater *

Gail Brodsky Gail Brodsky (born June 5, 1991) is an American former professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking is 182, reached on March 19, 2012. On May 2, 2011, she peaked at No. 348 in the doubles rankings. On the ITF Circuit, she h ...

(born 1991), American tennis player * Gail Bruce (1923–1998), American football player *

Gail Collins Gail Collins (born November 25, 1945) is an American journalist, op-ed columnist and author, most recognized for her work with ''The New York Times''.

(born 1945), American journalist *

Gail Cronauer Gail Cronauer is an American stage, television, and feature film actress and an acting professor. She has performed in films as diverse as Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, a ...

(born 1948), American actress *

Gail Davies Gail Davies (born Patricia Gail Dickerson; June 5, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and the first female record producer in country music. She is the daughter of country singer Tex Dickerson and the sister of songwriter Ron Davies. Gail' ...

, (born 1948), American country singer/songwriter *

Gail Devers Yolanda Gail Devers ( ; born November 19, 1966) is an American retired track and field sprinter who competed in the 60 metres, 60 m hurdles, 100 m and 100 m hurdles. One of the greatest and most decorated female sprinters of all time, she was t ...

(born 1966), American athlete *

Gail Ann Dorsey Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she is perhaps best known for her lengthy residency in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's death in 2016. Asid ...

(born 1962), American musician *

Gail Emms Gail Elizabeth Emms MBE (born 23 July 1977) is a retired English badminton player who has achieved international success in doubles tournaments. A badminton player since the age of four, Emms was first chosen to represent England in 1995 and re ...

(born 1977), British badminton player *

Gail Finney Gail Finney (August 16, 1959 – August 20, 2022) was an American businesswoman and politician who was a Democratic member of the Kansas House of Representatives, who represented the 84th house district from 2009 until her death in 2022. Back ...

(1959-2022), American businesswoman and politician *

Gail Fisher Gail Fisher (August 18, 1935 – December 2, 2000) was an American actress who was one of the first black women to play substantive roles in American television. She was best known for playing the role of secretary Peggy Fair on the television de ...

(1935–2000), American actress *

Gail Goodrich Gail Charles Goodrich Jr. (born April 23, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is best known for scoring a then record 42 points for UCLA in the 1965 NCAA championship game vs ...

(born 1943), American basketball player *

Gail Grandchamp Gail Grandchamp (born March 13, 1955) is a retired American female boxer. On 16 April 1992, after eight years in court litigation in Massachusetts, she gained the right to become a boxer, as a state Superior Court judge deemed it was illegal to ...

(born 1955), American boxer *

Gail Halvorsen Colonel Gail Seymour "The Candy Bomber" Halvorsen (October 10, 1920 – February 16, 2022) was a senior officer and command pilot in the United States Air Force. He is best known as the "Berlin Candy Bomber" or "Uncle Wiggly Wings" and gained ...

(1920–2022), American air force pilot *

Gail Jonson Gail Michelle Jonson (born 4 April 1965 in Hamilton, New Zealand) is a former medley and butterfly swimmer from New Zealand, who won a bronze medal in the women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at the 1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commo ...

(born 1965), New Zealand swimmer *

Gail Kim Gail Kim-Irvine (born February 20, 1977) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where she serves as a producer. In Impact Wrestling she was the inaugural and record setting seven-time Knockout ...

(born 1976), Canadian wrestler *

Gail Carson Levine Gail Carson Levine (born September 17, 1947) is an American author of young adult books. Her second novel, ''Ella Enchanted'', received a Newbery Honor in 1998.

(born 1947), American writer *

Gail Nkoane Mabalane Gail Mabalane (née Nkoane; born 27 December 1984) is a South African actress, model, media socialite, businesswoman and singer. She is most notable for acting roles on South African television series "The Wild", and recently starred on tele-nov ...

(born 1984), South African actress and model *

Gail Miller (water polo) Gail Louise Miller (born 30 November 1976 in Canberra) is an Australian water polo player from the gold medal squad of the 2000 Summer Olympics. See also * Australia women's Olympic water polo team records and statistics * List of Olympic ch ...

(born 1976), Australian water polo player *

Gail Minault Gail Minault (born 25 March 1939) is an American historian of South Asia. Life Gail Minault was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 25 March 1939. She was educated in the public schools of Pottstown, Pennsylvania before completing high school at t ...

(born 1939), American historian *

Gail O'Grady Gail Ann O'Grady (born January 23, 1963), an American actress and producer, is best known for her roles on television. Her roles include Donna Abandando in the ABC police drama '' NYPD Blue'', and Helen Pryor in the NBC drama series ''American Dre ...

(born 1963), American actress *

Gail Phillips Ramona Gail Phillips (née McIver; May 15, 1944 – March 25, 2021) was the 17th Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives. Early life and career Born in Juneau, Alaska, Phillips graduated from Nome High School, in Nome, Alaska, in 1962. S ...

(1944–2021), American politician *

Gail Porter Gail Porter (born 23 March 1971) is a Scottish television personality, former model and actress. She started her television career in children's TV, before branching out into modelling and presenting mainstream TV. In the 1990s, she famously po ...

(born 1971), British television presenter *

Gail Ryan Gail Rowell-Ryan (born 11 January 1939) is a film and television hairdresser. Biography Gail Rowell-Ryan was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1939. Her career spanned over five decades, from 1974 to 2021. She is best known for her work with celeb ...

(born 1939), American hairstylist *

Gail Sheehy Gail Sheehy (born Gail Henion; November 27, 1936 – August 24, 2020) was an American author, journalist, and lecturer. She was the author of seventeen books and numerous high-profile articles for magazines such as ''New York'' and ''Vanity ...

(born 1937), American writer *

Gail Simmons Gail Simmons (born May 19, 1976) is a Canadian-American food writing, food writer and cookbook author. She has served as a permanent judge on Bravo's Emmy-winning series ''Top Chef'' since the show's inception in 2006. Simmons was previously the h ...

(born 1976), Canadian food critic *

Gail Simone Gail Simone (aka Gladys Simonetti) is an American writer best known for her work in comics on DC's ''Birds of Prey'', ''Batgirl'', Dynamite Entertainment's Red Sonja, and for being the longest running female writer on Wonder Woman to date. Other ...

(born 1974), American comics writer *

Gail Skare Gail Skare (born April 29, 1939) was an American politician. Skare lived in Bemidji, Minnesota with her husband and family. She went to Bemidji State University. Skare served on the Beltrami County Commission and was a Democrat. She served in the ...

(born 1939), American politician

Fictional characters

* Gail, fictional comics character created by French cartoonist

Philippe Druillet Philippe Druillet (; born 28 June 1944) is a French comics artist and creator, and an innovator in visual design. Biography Philippe Druillet was born in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France, but spent his youth in Spain, returning to France in 1952 ...

* Gail, fictional character in the 1999 video game ''

Dino Crisis is a survival horror and action-adventure video game series created by Shinji Mikami and developed and published by Capcom. The plot focuses on recurring outbreaks of deadly dinosaurs in closed environments, such as a laboratory on an island. ...

'' *

Gail Leery ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...

, fictional character in the television series ''Dawson's Creek'' *

Gail Platt Gail Rodwell (also Potter, Tilsley, Platt, Hillman and McIntyre) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Helen Worth. The character first appeared on-screen on 29 July 1974. Gail is the daughte ...

, fictional character in the television series ''Coronation Street'' *

Gail Wynand ''The Fountainhead'' is a 1943 novel by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, her first major literary success. The novel's protagonist, Howard Roark, is an intransigent young architect, who battles against conventional standards and refuses to comp ...

, fictional character in the 1943 novel ''The Fountainhead'' by Ayn Rand *Gail Peck, a fictional character from the TV series

Rookie Blue ''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police drama television series starring Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith. It was created by Morwyn Brebner, Tassie Cameron, and Ellen Vanstone. The series premiered on June 24, 2010, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/ ...

References

{{Given name English feminine given names