Basil

Basil is a male given name: 99% of people named Basil are men, and it is recorded as male in 5 of the 5 countries covered.

MaleHigh

Male 99%Female 1%

Verdict: Male
Male / female split: 99% male / 1% female
Confidence: High (64 or more weighted country observations)
Most common in: United States, Arabic and Persian countries, Great Britain
US births since 1880: 12,581 male / 169 female
Data: nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
Updated: 2026-09-11

How to address Basil

When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Basil," in English, "Guten Tag Basil," in German. Basil is a male given name: about 99% of people named Basil are men. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.

Ready-made greetings in six languages

English

Dear Basil,

German

Guten Tag Basil,

French

Bonjour Basil,

Spanish

Estimado/a Basil:

Chinese

Basil您好：

Japanese

Basil様

English

Hi Basil,

German

Hi Basil,

French

Salut Basil,

Spanish

Hola Basil,

Chinese

Basil你好：

Japanese

Basilさん

Greeting generator

This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.

Country breakdown

Gender of the name Basil by country (nam_dict, 55 country columns)
Country	How common	Usually	Male share
United States	common	man's name	99%
Arabic and Persian countries	uncommon	man's name	98%
Great Britain	rare	man's name	98%
Austria	rare	man's name	98%
Switzerland	rare	man's name	98%

United States birth data

12,581 male · 169 female · 12,750 births recorded

Male 99%Female 1%

Since 1980: 93% male.

Frequently asked questions

Is Basil a male or female name?

Basil is a male given name: 99% of people named Basil are men, and it is recorded as male in 5 of the 5 countries covered.

How do I address Basil in an email?

Is Basil a unisex name?

Basil is not a unisex name: 99% of people named Basil are men. Basil leans strongly male overall.

Sources

Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.

Cite this page

DearWho, "Is Basil a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/basil (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.

BibTeX

@misc{dearwho_basil,
  title  = {Is Basil a male or female name?},
  author = {{DearWho}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/basil},
  note   = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}