Gibson
Masculine · “son of Gilbert”
Gibson is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 5,410 boys against 151 girls since 1880.
Gibson is son of Gib, and Gib was the ordinary medieval English short form of Gilbert — bright pledge, from a Germanic word for a hostage given as surety.
How old is the name Gibson?
Gibson first appears in US birth records in 1882 — 143 years ago. The typical Gibson alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 4,800 people named Gibson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gibson most popular?
Gibson peaked in 1882, reaching #691 nationally. Today it ranks #1677, 986 places below that high. See the whole 1882 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From gisil beraht to Gibson
The story of Gibson
Gib was so common a name in medieval England that a tomcat was called a gib-cat, which Shakespeare uses. The surname Gibson followed. Orville Gibson founded the guitar company in 1902. The surname entered American given-name use recently, part of the wider -son movement, and is in current use.
Meaning
son of Gilbert
From Gib, the medieval short form of Gilbert, from the Germanic gisil, 'pledge' or 'hostage', and beraht, 'bright'. Hostage-giving was a formal instrument of medieval diplomacy. The -son ending is the standard patronymic and the reading is undisputed.
How the name formed
- gisil beraht
- Gilbert
- Gib
- Gibson
Related forms: Gibbson · Gilbert · Gibb
Pronouncing Gibson
GIB-sun
Two syllables, stress on the first, with a hard g. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Gibson
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
- 1882
- Most boys named
- 2013262 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #691reached in 1882
- Change vs 2023
- −9.3%98 in 2025, from 108
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.
Gibson in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Gibbson in English — spelling variant
- Gilbert in English — related form
- Gibb in Scottish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Michigan, Texas, California.
Gibsons among us
people named Gibson are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 17,429 born in 2025 was named Gibson
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
Gibson 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 Gibson is headed
Gibson is easing off slowly — about 18% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
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.
Gibson beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Gibson in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The bright-pledge meaning is transparent and the hostage custom behind it is genuinely interesting.
- The gib-cat is a real and rather good piece of medieval English.
- Two firm syllables that carry well against any surname.
- It reads unmistakably as a surname.
- The guitar company is a strong association for many people.
- It is very new as a given name.
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What they receive
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Gibson
Masculine · #1677 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Gibsons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,800 people named Gibson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Gibson in 2025?
- Gibson ranks #1677 among US boy names in 2025, with 98 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Gibson?
- About 1 in every 17,429 US boys born in 2025 was named Gibson — 98 in all.
- Will my child share the name Gibson with classmates?
- Gibson will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Gibson
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ellison#1677 · Lando#1677 · Mayson#1677 · Conan#1677 · Issa#1677 · Kyce#1677 · Kyng#1677 · Reagan#1677
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Gibson? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Gibson and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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