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 third wife, after Ahinoam and Saul's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married to ...

. 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 wind moving at a speed between .

, and Gayle. Notable people with the given name include: * Gail Beggs, Canadian government minister *

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 an American inventor and manufacturing pioneer. He was born in New York state and settled in Texas in 1829 (then part of Mexico), where he worked as a land surveyor, newspaper publish ...

(1801–1874), American inventor * Gail Borden (figure skater) (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 wo ...

(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's ''JFK'' to the TV series, ''Walker, Texas Ranger''. She is a recipient of the 2007 Dallas F ...

(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. Gai ...

, (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 ...

(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 performed regularly in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's last tour in 2004. Aside from playing bass, sh ...

(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 r ...

(born 1977), British badminton player * Gail Finney (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 Halvorsen (October 10, 1920 – February 16, 2022) was a senior officer and command pilot in the United States Air Force. He rose to fame for dropping candy to German children during the Berlin Airlift from 1948 to 1949, ...

(1920–2022), American air force pilot * Gail Jonson (born 1965), New Zealand swimmer *

Gail Kim Gail Kim-Irvine (born February 20, 1977) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenures in TNA Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In TNA, she was the inaugural and record setting seven-tim ...

(born 1976), Canadian wrestler *

Gail Carson Levine Gail Carson Levine (born September 17, 1947) is an American author of young adult literature, young adult books. Her first novel, ''Ella Enchanted'', received a Newbery Medal, 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 the South African television series "The Wild", and recently starred on the ...

(born 1984), South African actress and model * Gail Miller (water polo) (born 1976), Australian water polo player *

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

(born 1939), American historian *

Gail O'Grady Gail Ann O'Grady (born January 23, 1963) is an American actress and producer, 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 Drea ...

(born 1963), American actress * Gail Phillips (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 1999, she posed nude for ' ...

(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. She worked from 1974 to 2021. She has worked in films such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 ...

(born 1939), American hairstylist * Gail Shapiro (1947–2006), American pediatric allergist *

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 (magazine), ''New Y ...

(1936–2020), American writer *

Gail Simmons Gail Simmons (born May 19, 1976) is a Canadian 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 head criti ...

(born 1976), Canadian food critic *

Gail Simone Gail Simone (born July 29, 1974) is an American writer best known for her work in comics on DC Comics, DC's ''Birds of Prey (comics), Birds of Prey'', ''Batgirl'', Dynamite Entertainment's Red Sonja, and for being the longest running female write ...

(born 1974), American comics writer * Gail Skare (born 1939), American politician *

Gail Tipa Gail Tewaru Tipa (born 1959) is a New Zealand resource management planner, and has worked in the environmental sector for thirty years. In 2021 Tipa was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori and environme ...

(born 1959), New Zealand resource management planner

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 195 ...

* 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. T ...

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

Gail Platt Gail Platt (also Potter, Tilsley, Hillman, McIntyre, Rodwell and Chadwick) 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 ...

, fictional character in the television series ''Coronation Street'' * Gail Wynand, 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 procedural 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, and aired on Global in ...

* Gail Hailstorm, fictional character from

Scary Movie ''Scary Movie'' is a 2000 American parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written by Marlon Wayans, Marlon and Shawn Wayans (who both also star), alongside Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Jon ...

References

{{Given name English feminine given names Feminine given names

Fictional characters

See also

References