Given name & surname
General
“a military leader”
General is used as a given name and a surname. One American interpretation is “a military leader.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One American interpretation is “a military leader.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is American.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
General through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,025
- 4,025 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 105 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −41%
- Cooling
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 7 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 105 in 1918. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,044 as a first name in 2020; 821 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
General’s family of names
General has a related form in Generel. General has a related form in Generil. General has a related form in Generol.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named General
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love General, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Orval
“having the strength of a spear”
>99% boys
Elmore
“from the moor of the elm trees”
>99% boys
Garvin
“a friend with a spear”
>99% boys
Newell
“from the new manor”
98% boys · 2% girls
Garnett
“resembling the dark-red gem” · “one who wields a spear”
>99% boys
Eldred
“an old, wise advisor”
93% boys · 7% girls
Ellsworth
“from the nobleman's estate”
>99% boys
Melville
“from the mill town”
99% boys · 1% girls