# Gordon (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/gordon/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “mud”, “hill”, “great”, “fort” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɡɔrdn̩/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Gordie, Gordy, Gord, Gordo |
| Variant spellings | Gurden, Gorden |
| US babies named this | 155,579 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 154,909 / 670 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 372, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

The Scottish surname derives from Gordon in Berwickshire. This likely derives from Old English gor (“mud”) + dūn (“hill”), although a Brittonic etymology, from *gor (“great”) + *dīn (“fort”), has also been proposed.

## What it means

Gordon is grouped under mountain.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 9 | 4,655 |
| 1963 | 7 | 5,514 |
| 1964 | 7 | 5,656 |
| 1965 | 5 | 6,869 |
| 1966 | 7 | 5,450 |
| 1967 | 8 | 5,150 |
| 1969 | 5 | 7,866 |
| 1970 | 5 | 8,424 |
| 1971 | 6 | 7,705 |
| 1974 | 6 | 8,031 |
| 1975 | 10 | 5,669 |
| 1978 | 9 | 6,575 |
| 1984 | 5 | 10,980 |
| 1986 | 7 | 8,859 |
| 1989 | 6 | 11,322 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 183 | 1,037 |
| 2012 | 195 | 1,014 |
| 2013 | 189 | 1,029 |
| 2014 | 224 | 941 |
| 2015 | 279 | 812 |
| 2016 | 220 | 948 |
| 2017 | 275 | 818 |
| 2018 | 271 | 825 |
| 2019 | 267 | 842 |
| 2020 | 225 | 965 |
| 2021 | 243 | 929 |
| 2022 | 233 | 971 |
| 2023 | 223 | 987 |
| 2024 | 200 | 1,087 |
| 2025 | 209 | 1,052 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 6 | 2,892 |
| 2012 | 13 | 1,756 |
| 2013 | 12 | 1,796 |
| 2014 | 10 | 2,079 |
| 2015 | 15 | 1,586 |
| 2016 | 16 | 1,570 |
| 2017 | 6 | 3,040 |
| 2018 | 9 | 2,259 |
| 2019 | 13 | 1,745 |
| 2020 | 7 | 2,682 |
| 2021 | 10 | 2,125 |
| 2022 | 16 | 1,534 |
| 2023 | 5 | 3,523 |
| 2024 | 9 | 2,443 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,137 |

## People named Gordon

- Gordon Banks, English association football player (1937–2019)
- Gordon Moore, American businessman, co-founder of Intel Corporation (1929–2023)
- Gordon Ramsay, British chef, restaurateur, and television personality (born 1966)
- Gordon Allport, American psychologist (1897–1967)
- Vere Gordon Childe, British prehistorian archaeologist (1892–1957)
- Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian singer-songwriter (1938–2023)
- Gordon Cooper, American astronaut (1927–2004)
- Gordon Schildenfeld, Croatian footballer
- Gordon Milne, English association football footballer and manager
- Gordon Parks, American photographer, musician, writer and film director (1912–2006)
- Gordon Bunshaft, American architect (1909–1990)
- Gordon Scott, American actor (1926-2007)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.