Gerson
Masculine · “a stranger there”
Gerson is a stranger there — Moses named his firstborn Gershom, saying he had been a sojourner in a foreign land, and the name records the sentence.
How old is the name Gerson?
Gerson first appears in US birth records in 1909 — 116 years ago. The typical Gerson alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 3,900 people named Gerson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gerson most popular?
Gerson peaked in 2005, reaching #1137 nationally. Today it ranks #1571, 434 places below that high. See the whole 2005 chart.
Where it comes from
From ger sham to Gerson
The story of Gerson
Exodus 2 has Moses name his son and explain why in the same verse — one of the Bible's explicit naming etymologies. Gershon's descendants formed one of the three Levite clans. Spanish and Portuguese Protestant naming took up Gerson, and Spanish-speaking families brought it to America, where it appears steadily and is in current use.
Meaning
a stranger there, sojourner
From the Hebrew Gershom, which Exodus glosses directly: ger sham, 'a stranger there' — Moses names him for his exile in Midian. Gershon, a son of Levi, is a separate but closely related name. The gloss is given in the text itself, which makes the etymology unusually secure.
How the name formed
- ger sham
- Gershom
- Gerson
Related forms: Gerson · Gerson · Gershom · Gerson
Pronouncing Gerson
HER-son
Two syllables, stress on the first, in Spanish, where the g takes an h sound. English speakers say GUR-sun.
Nicknames for Gerson
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
- 1909
- Most boys named
- 2006137 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1137reached in 2005
- Change vs 2023
- +8.0%108 in 2025, from 100
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.
Gerson in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Gerson in Spanish — same name
- Gerson in Portuguese — same name
- Gershom in Hebrew — related form
- Gerson in French — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Gersons among us
people named Gerson are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 15,816 born in 2025 was named Gerson
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Etienne test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Gerson's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Etienne climbed just as high around 1902, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Etienne's path sketches the road Gerson is walking now.
Gerson sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Gerson is headed
Gerson should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Gerson beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Gerson in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The Bible explains the name on the page, which very few names can claim.
- The stranger-in-a-foreign-land sense is unusually resonant.
- It is standard in Spanish, Portuguese and French without change.
- The initial consonant differs between Spanish and English readings.
- Gershom and Gershon are two separate biblical names easily confused.
- It reads as a surname to English speakers.
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Gerson
Masculine · #1571 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Gersons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,900 people named Gerson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Gerson in 2025?
- Gerson ranks #1571 among US boy names in 2025, with 108 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Gerson?
- About 1 in every 15,816 US boys born in 2025 was named Gerson — 108 in all.
- Will my child share the name Gerson with classmates?
- Gerson will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Gerson
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Constantine#1571 · Jiovanni#1571 · Emeric#1571 · Link#1571 · Vivaan#1571 · Lucky#1571 · Neel#1571 · Keon#1571
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Gerson? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Gerson and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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