Given name & surname · also Scottish
Gordon
“from the great hill; a hero”
Gordon is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “from the great hill; a hero.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “from the great hill; a hero.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Scottish.
How it developed
In English usage, Gordon developed from GOURDON.
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
Gordon through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 155,579
- 154,909 boys · 670 girls
- Most popular year
- 1952
- 2,835 babies
- 2025
- 209
- #1,052 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −12%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 209 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,052 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 11.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 2,829 in 1952. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (20). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 78,487 as a first name in 2020; 157,985 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.
Gordon’s family of names
In English usage, Gordon has a diminutive in Don. In English usage, Gordon developed from the French form GOURDON. In English usage, Gordon has a related form in Gorden.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Gordon has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Irish roots to each of them.
12 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 14
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Dondiminutive · English
- Gordiediminutive · English
- Gordydiminutive · English
- Gordanvariant
- Gordenvariant · English
- Gordodiminutive · English
- Gordclipped form · English
- Gordeyvariant
Show 6 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 5
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Gordon
- Gordon BrownPrime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2010born 1951
- StingBritish musician (born 1951)
- Gordon BanksEnglish association football player (1937–2019)
- Gordon RamsayBritish chef, restaurateur, and television personality (born 1966)
- Gordon MooreAmerican businessman, co-founder of Intel Corporation (1929–2023)
- Gordon AllportAmerican psychologist (1897–1967)
- Gordon BajnaiHungarian politicianborn 1968
- Gordon LightfootCanadian singer-songwriter (1938–2023)
- Gordon SchildenfeldCroatian footballerborn 1985
Characters named Gordon: Gordon Freeman (fictional protagonist of the Half Life video game series), Gordon Gekko (the main antagonist of the 1987 film Wall Street and the antihero of its 2010 sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Gordon, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Gerald
“one who rules with the spear”
>99% boys
Guy
“a warrior; from the wood” · “a lively man”
>99% boys
Avon
“of the river”
>99% boys
Vaughn
“the little beloved one” · “one who is small”
90% boys · 10% girls
Gale
“a foreigner” · “one who is cheerful”
85% boys · 15% girls
Glen
“from the secluded narrow valley”
>99% boys
Douglas
“from the black river”
>99% boys
Doran
“exile, wanderer” · “a stranger; one who has been exiled”
>99% boys