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Home › Baby Names Directory › Glendale

Glendale

♂ Boy

Pronounced GLEN-dayl /ˈɡlɛn.deɪl/Medium

Meaning: Glendale is a place-name and surname built from 'glen' (a narrow valley, from Gaelic gleann) and 'dale' (a broader valley, from Old English dael). Given to boys, it carries the plain landscape sense of a valley within a valley.Low

In 30 seconds: Glendale is a valley place-name, blending 'glen' and 'dale', that a handful of American families borrowed as a boy's name in the early twentieth century (said GLEN-dayl).
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Origin LowEnglish, Scottish
MeaningGlendale is a place-name and surname built from 'glen' (a narrow valley, from Gaelic gleann) and 'dale' (a broader valley, from Old English dael). Given to boys, it carries the plain landscape sense of a valley within a valley.
U.S. rank (2011)#12948 ↘ Falling
2011 U.S. births5 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)
Peak year1951
Total births (all-time)≈ 544

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 195119152011

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

Glendale joins 'glen', a Gaelic-rooted word for a narrow valley, to 'dale', an Old English word for a broader one, so it literally doubles down on valley country. It reached American boys chiefly as a transplanted place-name, echoing towns called Glendale from California to Ohio.

It was never common, given to only about twenty boys a year at its 1951 peak, and it had largely faded by the twenty-first century. A boy named Glendale then would be a grandfather now, and the name still reads as firmly mid-century rather than revived.

Did you know? Glendale spread first as a town name across the United States before a few parents adopted it for sons, part of the old habit of turning American place-names into given names.
Overall data confidence 40%
References - Glendale — Place-name/surname from glen + dale; American given-name use

Variations

GlendalGlendellGlen

Nicknames

GlenDale

Famous Bearers

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If you like Glendale…

Glen— the valley word inside the name
Dale— the second valley element on its own
Glenn— a like short Scottish-rooted name
Dell— another small-valley nature word

Explore names like Glendale

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Glendale mean?

It blends 'glen' and 'dale', two words for a valley, so it means something like 'valley of the glen'.

How do you pronounce Glendale?

It is said GLEN-dayl /ˈɡlɛn.deɪl/, two syllables with the stress on the first.

Is Glendale a boy or girl name?

Glendale has been used mainly as a boy's name in the United States.

Is Glendale a popular name?

No, it has always been rare, given to only a couple dozen boys a year even at its peak in the mid-twentieth century.

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