Gordon
Feminine · “from Gordon in Berwickshire”
Gordon is given to boys far more often — 154,909 boys against 670 girls since 1880. See Gordon as a boy name
Gordon has been through the full sequence: a place in Berwickshire, a family that took its name, a clan, a surname, and finally a first name that American families have used since records began. One story attached to the family is almost certainly embroidered and has never been dislodged.
How old is the name Gordon?
Gordon first appears in US birth records in 1893 — 132 years ago. The typical Gordon alive today was born around 1931, making them about 94 years old. About 200 people named Gordon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gordon most popular?
Gordon peaked in 1929, reaching #1370 nationally. See the whole 1929 chart.
Where it comes from
From Gordon to Gordon
The story of Gordon
When the Gordon Highlanders were raised in seventeen ninety-four, the Duchess of Gordon is said to have gone round the fairs and markets of the north-east with a piper, wearing a regimental jacket, and to have offered the king's shilling from between her lips to any man who would enlist for it. The story is in every regimental history and was repeated for two centuries. It is almost certainly at least partly invented: recruitment records show the usual bounties and the usual pressures, and the duchess was one of several people working the same ground. But it did what recruiting stories do — it made a transaction look like a romance, and it got told at every mess dinner for two hundred years. The regiment itself was amalgamated out of existence in nineteen ninety-four.
Meaning
from Gordon in Berwickshire
A Scottish place name of uncertain derivation — a Brittonic compound about a spacious fort has been proposed and is not secure. What is documented is the sequence: place, then family, then clan, then surname, then given name.
How the name formed
- Gordon
- Gordoun
Pronouncing Gordon
GOR-dun
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The second syllable reduces almost to nothing, which is standard for an English place-name ending.
Nicknames for Gordon
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
- 1893
- Most girls named
- 192931 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1370reached in 1929
- Change vs 1986
- −14.3%6 in 1989, 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.
Gordons among us
people named Gordon 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
Gordon sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Two syllables with front stress is the plainest shape English has.
- Don detaches as a short form and needs no explanation anywhere.
- It names a real place with a documented line of descent.
- It reads as distinctly Scottish, which suits some families and not others.
- Gorden and Gordan are both recorded and will be written for it.
- It is recorded for daughters too, though very rarely.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Gordon to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Gordon? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Gordon
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Gordons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Gordon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Gordon in 2025?
- Gordon is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Gordon with classmates?
- Gordon will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More G names
The most-given names starting with G, all years combined.
Grace#38 · Gloria#654 · Gladys#3211 · Geraldine#2438 · Gail#8362 · Gertrude#6546 · Georgia#99 · Gina#2076
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Gordon? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Gordon and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle