Gordon

Gordon: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“great hill”
Origin
Scottish Gaelic
Say it
GOR-dən · 2 syllables
Used for
Boys

From a Scottish surname derived from a place name, often explained from Brittonic or Gaelic elements meaning 'great hill' or similar. The exact origin is somewhat uncertain.

How popular is Gordon?

202460.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Gordon in 2024199

2024 rank#1,087 boys

Peak year1934

Total US babies since 1880155,367

Gordon is steady now but far below its 1934 peak.

Names like Gordon

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Loganlittle hollow · Scottish Gaelic
  • Cameroncrooked nose · Scottish Gaelic
  • IanGod is gracious · Scottish Gaelic
  • Carsonson of Carr · Scottish Gaelic
  • Callumdove · Scottish Gaelic
  • MaxwellMack's stream · Scottish Gaelic
  • Dallasmeadow dwelling · Scottish Gaelic
  • Kennethborn of fire · Scottish Gaelic

Gordon questions

What does the name Gordon mean?

Gordon means "great hill". It comes from Scottish Gaelic. From a Scottish surname derived from a place name, often explained from Brittonic or Gaelic elements meaning 'great hill' or similar. The exact origin is somewhat uncertain.

Is Gordon a boy or girl name?

Gordon is mainly a boy's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Gordon?

199 US babies were named Gordon in 2024. Its peak year was 1934.

How do you pronounce Gordon?

Gordon is usually pronounced GOR-dən.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.