Meaning and history
From an English surname derived from Old French gaillard, meaning “high-spirited” or “boisterous,” this name was rarely used after the mid-20th century, when gay took on the slang meaning “homosexual.”
19371937: 114 births, rank #545
1938: 134 births, rank #502
1939: 124 births, rank #510
1940: 127 births, rank #514
1941: 136 births, rank #502
19421942: 155 births, rank #495
1943: 146 births, rank #516
1944: 120 births, rank #552
1945: 116 births, rank #555
1946: 117 births, rank #595
19471947: 120 births, rank #626
1948: 113 births, rank #637
1949: 120 births, rank #621
1950: 94 births, rank #708
1951: 91 births, rank #728
19521952: 109 births, rank #663
1953: 86 births, rank #765
1954: 68 births, rank #897
1955: 65 births, rank #924
19561956: 81 births, rank #832
Gaylord rose from #924 to #832 for boys between 1955 and 1956. Its highest annual birth count came in 1931, with 168 births.