Boys' name · peaked in 1934
Gordon name popularity since 1925
126,200 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Gordon. Half of them were born in 1949 or earlier, so the typical Gordon is about 77 years old in 2026. Gordon peaked in 1934 as the #71 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 126,200
- Named Gordon, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1934
- #71 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,052 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% boys
- 488 girls · 125,712 boys
- Most popular in
- North Dakota
- 3.78× its national share
Peak year is the year Gordon made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Gordon births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1952. Measured as a share of all babies, Gordon peaked in 1934.
- Steepest fall: Between 1963 and 1968, Gordon's share of baby boys fell by 39%, from 1 in 976 to 1 in 1,590.
- Fastest rise: Between 2010 and 2015, it became 1.6× more common, from 1 in 10,700 baby boys to 1 in 6,870.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Gordon's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Gordon.
Decade by decade
Babies named Gordon in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 122 | 13,146 | – |
| 1930s | 137 | 25,460 | #70 |
| 1940s | 57 | 24,468 | #109 |
| 1950s | 54 | 25,741 | #128 |
| 1960s | 64 | 15,832 | #178 |
| 1970s | 36 | 6,583 | #310 |
| 1980s | 18 | 5,030 | #374 |
| 1990s | 0 | 3,532 | #541 |
| 2000s | 0 | 2,304 | #877 |
| 2010s | 0 | 2,283 | #812 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 1,333 | #1,052 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
36.3% of babies named Gordon from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Gordon is most popular
The index compares Gordon's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Gordon.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 3.78× | 1,479 |
| Vermont | 3.48× | 721 |
| Hawaii | 2.96× | 1,149 |
| Montana | 2.80× | 1,018 |
| South Dakota | 2.67× | 1,056 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Gordon and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Gordon (this page) | 125,712 | 1934 |
| Gorden | 1,478 | 1922 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Gordon's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Gordon.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Gordon (1934).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data