General
Masculine · “of the whole”
General is a military rank used as a name, and the American registers carry it in real numbers. It belongs with Admiral, Major, Doctor and King — titles given as first names, in most cases to sons of families who had no claim to them at all.
How old is the name General?
General was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical General alive today was born around 1929, making them about 96 years old. About 1,200 people named General are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name General most popular?
General peaked in 1885, reaching #277 nationally. See the whole 1885 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From generalis to General
The story of General
Nineteenth-century American naming used titles and ranks as given names with some freedom, particularly in the South, and the registers carry General, Major, Admiral, Doctor, Judge and King. Some were aspirational, some commemorated a specific officer, and some were simply chosen for sound. General appears through the century and peaked around 1885, then faded as the practice did.
Meaning
of the whole; commanding officer
From the Latin generalis, 'relating to the whole', through the French capitaine général — the captain over the whole army rather than one company. The word's ordinary English sense of 'universal' and its military sense are the same word, which is why 'general' means both.
How the name formed
- generalis
- capitaine général
- general
- General
Related forms: General · Général
Pronouncing General
JEN-ur-ul
Three syllables, stress on the first. It is an ordinary English word and is never mispronounced.
Nicknames for General
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 192091 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #277reached in 1885
- Change vs 2021
- 0.0%7 in 2024, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
General in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- General in Spanish — same name
- Général in French — related form
Generals among us
people named General are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
General has already lived its whole cycle: it rose, had its era, and has stepped off the charts. The fashion question is behind it — what lies ahead is the waiting room where revivals begin, once a name's first generation has grown distant enough for it to sound fresh again.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It records a genuine and now largely forgotten American naming practice.
- The word's double meaning — universal and commanding — is a real curiosity of English.
- Three syllables with a front stress, which holds up against a short surname.
- It is a military rank and an ordinary English adjective, so it never reads purely as a name.
- It is strongly period-coded to the nineteenth century.
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General
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Generals are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named General are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name General in 2025?
- General is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name General with classmates?
- General will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More G names
The most-given names starting with G, all years combined.
George#126 · Gary#1073 · Gregory#593 · Gerald#1204 · Gabriel#37 · Glenn#1443 · Gavin#303 · Gordon#1051
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles General? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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