Head to head · Boys' names
George vs Landon
#126 vs #127 in 2025
George is a whisker ahead (#126 vs #127 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: George is holding its place on the charts, Landon is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, George leads 6 measures of 6; Landon leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: George #4, Landon #855 — George higher
- 1890s: George #4, Landon #885 — George higher
- 1900s: George #4, Landon #1100 — George higher
- 1910s: George #6, Landon #1313 — George higher
- 1920s: George #7, Landon #1244 — George higher
- 1930s: George #9, Landon #1150 — George higher
- 1940s: George #15, Landon #1239 — George higher
- 1950s: George #26, Landon #1313 — George higher
- 1960s: George #34, Landon #923 — George higher
- 1970s: George #50, Landon #641 — George higher
- 1980s: George #70, Landon #336 — George higher
- 1990s: George #108, Landon #245 — George higher
- 2000s: George #143, Landon #96 — Landon higher
- 2010s: George #142, Landon #46 — Landon higher
- 2020s: George #132, Landon #93 — Landon higher
George stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Landon has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | George | Landon |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #4 | #855 |
| 1890s | #4 | #885 |
| 1900s | #4 | #1100 |
| 1910s | #6 | #1313 |
| 1920s | #7 | #1244 |
| 1930s | #9 | #1150 |
| 1940s | #15 | #1239 |
| 1950s | #26 | #1313 |
| 1960s | #34 | #923 |
| 1970s | #50 | #641 |
| 1980s | #70 | #336 |
| 1990s | #108 | #245 |
| 2000s | #143 | #96 |
| 2010s | #142 | #46 |
| 2020s | #132 | #93 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
George
- England & Wales#6
- Scotland#50
- Canada#92
Landon
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
George
farmer, one who works the earth
From Greek geōrgos, a compound of gē 'earth' and ergon 'work'.
Geōrgos → Georgios → Georgius → Georges → George
How it traveled
The Greek name Georgios was borne by a soldier martyred in the eastern Roman Empire in the early fourth century — Saint George, whose cult spread through Byzantium and reached western Europe with the Crusades, dragon and all. England adopted him as patron saint in the later Middle Ages, but the given name stayed surprisingly uncommon there until the Hanoverian succession of 1714 put a George on the throne, followed by five more.
Landon
long hill
The main reading traces Landon to the English surname Langdon, from Old English lang (long) and dūn (hill or down) — the name of several places in the English southwest. A second reading connects it to Norman French lande, a heath or open moor, which produced surnames such as Landon in France. Both are respectable; the English hill is the more commonly cited.
lang dūn (Old English, "long hill") → Langdon (English place name) → Langdon (surname) → Landon
How it traveled
Old English gave England hundreds of hills called dūn, and a long one was a langdūn — a description that hardened into place names and then into the surnames of families who came from them. Landon is the worn-down spelling of that surname, and like Hunter and Carson it crossed the Atlantic on the family side of the ledger before anyone thought to hand it to a baby as a first name.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
George
JORJ
One syllable, both g's soft. The French Georges (ZHORZH) and Spanish Jorge (HOR-hay) are the same name pronounced by their own rules.
- Georgie — The main informal short form in English, used for children and within families; sometimes kept for life.
- Geo — A clipped, casual form, mostly written — in texts, signatures and nicknames among friends.
- Dod — A traditional Scottish pet form of George, still heard in Scotland and generally unfamiliar elsewhere.
- Gee — An initial-based nickname, informal and usually family-only.
Landon
LAN-dun
Stress on the first syllable; the second is a soft, unstressed -dun. One pronunciation everywhere in American English.
- Lando — Informal shortening; also stands alone in Italian as a short form of Orlando.
- Lan — Very short, used within families rather than on paperwork.
- Landy — Informal, more common in childhood and on sports teams.
Who has carried each name
George
George Washington (b. 1732) — First president of the United States
George Clooney (b. 1961) — Ocean's Eleven star with two Oscars
George Orwell (b. 1903) — Wrote 1984 and Animal Farm
Landon
Landon Donovan (b. 1982) — US soccer's all-time great
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose George if you want…
- a name on the way upup 6 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesGeorge is 1 syllable to Landon's 2
- a name that charts abroad tooGeorge is on the national lists of England & Wales, Scotland and Canada
- a long American recordGeorge was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Landon if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsLandon is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itLandon runs 2 syllables, George 1
- a newer arrivalLandon entered the US charts in 1882
- a name that feels very nowLandon is stepping back from its peak
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
George
Strengths
- Spelled one way and recognized on sight — almost nobody has to ask how to write it.
- Charts in England and Wales, Scotland and Canada as well as the US, so it travels without translation.
- An unbroken record from the early Christian centuries through the English kings to now.
To consider
- It is strongly represented among older generations in the US, and some people will hear it as a grandfather's name before they hear it as a baby's. That impression is fading, but it hasn't gone.
- The name arrives with a lot of company: presidents, kings, a famous cartoon monkey. Expect the occasional joke and the occasional assumption about who he was named for.
- In England and Wales it is far more common than in the US, so British relatives may find it ordinary while American classmates find it distinctive.
Landon
Strengths
- Reads and spells itself on first hearing for American English speakers — no accents, no silent letters, no correction routine.
- Two syllables with the stress up front, which sits easily beside most one- and two-syllable surnames.
- A documented English surname history stretching back to Old English place names, rather than a coinage.
To consider
- Landen, Landyn and Landin all exist, so the spelling will occasionally be checked even though yours is the standard one.
- It sits close to Brandon and to London in sound, and gets misheard as both over the phone.
- The name's big rise is recent enough that most Landons alive are children and teenagers — it may read as belonging to a particular stretch of years rather than as an old family name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
George
12%chance George feels dated by 2040
George has held the top-100 across 11 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Landon
78%chance Landon feels dated by 2040
Landon is coming down from a big peak (#33 in 2010). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear George and Landon in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both George and Landon — the same style, ranked by the same records.
George or Landon — the short answers
- Which is more popular, George or Landon?
- George, in 2025: George ranked #126 with 2,848 babies; Landon ranked #127 with 2,840 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, George or Landon?
- George. Over the last five years George moved up 6 places; Landon moved down 58 places.
- Which is the older name, George or Landon?
- George was already in use when US records began in 1880; Landon entered the US charts in 1882. On the American record, George is the older name.
- How many people are named George and Landon?
- About 571,000 people named George are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 183,000 people named Landon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Georges or Landons in the classroom?
- George will almost certainly be the only one in school. Landon will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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