George
Masculine · “farmer”
George is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 1,487,297 boys against 9,963 girls since 1880. See George as a girl name
George comes from the Greek for one who works the earth, and it has been in continuous use since the early centuries of Christianity — carried by a soldier-saint, then by six English kings in a row, then across every ocean the British went. One syllable, no silent letters, spelled the same way in nearly every English-speaking country. Few names are so short and so well traveled at once.
How old is the name George?
George was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical George alive today was born around 1936, making them about 89 years old. About 571,000 people named George are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name George most popular?
George peaked in 1881, reaching #4 nationally. Today it ranks #126, 122 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Where it comes from
From Geōrgos to George
The story of George
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. From the eighteenth century on it was one of the standard English names, and it sailed with English speakers to North America, Australia and everywhere else the language went. Handel, who wrote the Messiah, and the first president of the United States both belong to that same wave.
Meaning
farmer, one who works the earth
From Greek geōrgos, a compound of gē 'earth' and ergon 'work'.
Cultural footprint
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
George Frideric Handel (b. 1685) — Composed Messiah
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Geōrgos
- Georgios
- Georgius
- Georges
- George
Related forms: Georgios · Jorge · Giorgio · Georg · Georges · Yuri
Pronouncing 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.
Nicknames for George
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
- 2013 — Prince George born
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 192127,476 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- +7.9%2,848 in 2025, from 2,640
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.
George in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Georgios in Greek — same name
- Jorge in Spanish — same name
- Giorgio in Italian — same name
- Georg in German — same name
- Georges in French — same name
- Yuri in Russian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York. International figures from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Statistics Canada. Sources
Georges among us
people named George are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 600 born in 2025 was named George
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where George is headed
George should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
George beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to George in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- 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.
- Has a ready-made short form in Georgie, plus direct equivalents in Spanish, Italian, German and Greek.
- One syllable, so it sits easily in front of almost any surname.
- 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.
- Beyond Georgie there aren't many nickname routes, so what he goes by will mostly be George itself.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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George
Masculine · #126 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Georges are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 571,000 people named George are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name George in 2025?
- George ranks #126 among US boy names in 2025, with 2,848 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name George?
- About 1 in every 600 US boys born in 2025 was named George — 2,848 in all.
- Will my child share the name George with classmates?
- George will almost certainly be the only one in school.
- What explains the spikes and dips on George's chart?
- George climbed after 2013 — Prince George born.
Ranked beside George
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Landon#127 · Dean#125 · Carson#124 · Jonah#128 · Giovanni#123 · Jasper#129 · Sawyer#122 · Hunter#130
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles George? See the current top 100.
Choosing between George and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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