Home › Baby Names Directory › Gabriela

Gabriela

♀ Girl

Pronounced gab-ree-EL-ah /ˌɡæb.riˈɛl.ɑː/High

Meaning: Feminine form of Gabriel, from the Hebrew Gavri'el, composed of 'gever' (strong man, hero) and 'El' (God), meaning 'God is my strength' or 'hero of God'.High

In 30 seconds: Gabriela is the Romance-language form of Gabrielle, carrying the full biblical weight of the archangel Gabriel's name with a warm Latin ending beloved across Spanish and Portuguese-speaking cultures.
💕 Browse more names
Origin HighHebrew
MeaningFeminine form of Gabriel, from the Hebrew Gavri'el, composed of 'gever' (strong man, hero) and 'El' (God), meaning 'God is my strength' or 'hero of God'.
U.S. rank (2025)#317 ↘ Falling
2025 U.S. births961 girls (0.05% of U.S. girls)
Peak year2003
Total births (all-time)≈ 86,167

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 200319032025

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

History & Origin

Gabriela is the feminine form of Gabriel, derived from the Hebrew Gavri'el. The archangel Gabriel appears in the Hebrew Bible (Daniel 8–9), the New Testament (Luke 1, announcing the births of John the Baptist and Jesus), and the Quran, where he is Jibril, the transmitter of divine revelation to the Prophet Muhammad. This triple role across three Abrahamic faiths gave Gabriel and its derivatives immense cross-cultural reach.

The feminine form Gabriela became especially popular in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Latin America, where it has been a top-ranking name for centuries. The Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet Gabriela Mistral (born Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, 1889–1957) adopted Gabriela as her pen name, cementing its association with literary distinction in the Spanish-speaking world. In the United States, Gabriela has charted steadily in the top 200, bolstered by Hispanic cultural influence.

Did you know? The spelling Gabriela with one 'l' is the standard form in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, while Gabrielle is French — the single spelling difference signals centuries of linguistic divergence across the Romance language family.
Overall data confidence 95%
Behind the Name: Gabriela — Etymology and Romance language variantsNobel Prize official biography of Gabriela Mistral — Famous bearer context

Variations

GabrielleGabriellaGabrijelaGabriele

Nicknames

GabiGabbyEllaBrie

Famous Bearers

  • ★Gabriela Mistral (1889–1957)
    Chilean poet, the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1945).
  • ★Gabriela Sabatini (1970–)
    Argentine tennis star and former world number three.

If you like Gabriela…

Isabella— four-syllable Romance feminine name ending in -a with biblical Hebrew roots
Valentina— four-syllable Spanish and Italian classic ending in -a with similar melodic flow
Natalia— four-syllable Latin-origin feminine name popular in Spanish and English speaking cultures

Frequently Asked

What does the name Gabriela mean?

Gabriela means 'God is my strength', as the feminine form of Gabriel from Hebrew Gavri'el.

How do you pronounce Gabriela?

Gabriela is pronounced gab-ree-EL-ah (/ˌɡæb.riˈɛl.ɑː/), four syllables with stress on the third.

Is Gabriela a boy or girl name?

Gabriela is a feminine name; Gabriel is the masculine equivalent.

How popular is Gabriela?

Gabriela ranks in the US top 200 girls' names and is a top-10 name in several Latin American countries.