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Gleason
How to Pronounce Gleason
Pronounced GLEE-sun /ˈɡliː.sən/Medium
Meaning: Gleason is an anglicized form of the Irish O Glasain, from glas, 'green, gray, or silver,' combined with a diminutive suffix meaning roughly 'descendant of the little gray/green one.' It was historically a leading family name in County Cork and County Tipperary.Medium
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Gleason began as the Irish surname O Glasain (also Gleeson), from glas, 'green, gray, silver.' Many Gleason and Gleeson families emigrated to the United States during the nineteenth-century Famine, and the name later moved into occasional first-name use.
As a given name Gleason was never common, logged for only about eighteen boys a year at its early peak around 1918, and it has remained rare since. It reads today as a heritage Irish-surname pick.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Gleason mean?
It is an Irish surname, anglicized from O Glasain, meaning roughly 'descendant of the gray or green one.'
How do you pronounce Gleason?
It is said GLEE-sun /ˈɡliː.sən/, two syllables with the stress on the first.
Is Gleason a boy or girl name?
Gleason is used as a boy's name.
How popular is Gleason?
It has always been rare in the United States, given to only about eighteen boys a year at its early peak around 1918.