Gordon
About Gordon
As this long-term Age of Jordans, both male and female, begins to wind down, the neglected Scottish favorite Gordon, with its more distinguished history, could come back as a distinctive alternative. Gordon is one of the most classic authentically Scottish names for boys.
Originally a surname, it was used in honor of nineteenth century general Charles George Gordon, killed defending the city of Khartoum. Conservative but not stodgy, Gordon was a Top 100 name from 1911 to 1943 and is showing some new signs of life. It fell off the charts in 2009 and reentered in 2014.
A contemporary political headliner is former Prime Minister Gordon Brown (born James Gordon), and other distinguished bearers of the name have been photographer and film director Parks, Scottish celebrity chef Ramsay, and the beloved "Sesame Street" character Gordon Robinson. We won't even mention that symbol of corporate greed from the 80's movie Wall Street.
Pronounced GOR-dun.
As of October 2026, Gordon ranked #1052 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #70 in 1935.
Editor's take: The name Gordon is a boy's name of Scottish origin meaning "great hill".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #941 | 224 | 116.6 |
| 2015 | #812 | 279 | 145.6 |
| 2016 | #948 | 220 | 115.9 |
| 2017 | #822 | 274 | 148 |
| 2018 | #825 | 271 | 149.2 |
| 2019 | #841 | 267 | 148.8 |
| 2020 | #964 | 225 | 130.4 |
| 2021 | #929 | 243 | 138.9 |
| 2022 | #970 | 233 | 133.4 |
| 2023 | #993 | 222 | 129.8 |
| 2024 | #1,089 | 199 | 115.5 |
| 2025 | #1,052 | 209 | 122.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Gordon.
- Roger
- Phinneas
- Howard
- Norman
- Arnold
- Marvin
- Roy
- Reginald
- Guy
- Clifford
- Alvin
- Morty
- Douglas
- Wilson
- Melvin
- Murray
- Glenn
- Nigel
- Lionnel
- Stanley
Gordon on lists
Famous Gordons
- Gordon Haddon Clark
American philosopher
- (James) Gordon Brown
British Prime Minister
- (Leroy) Gordon Cooper
Jr., American astronaut
- Gordon Muir Campbell
Canadian politician
- Gordon Edgar "Gord" Downie
Canadian singer/songwriter
- Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner aka Sting
English singer,songwriter
- Gordon Rupert Dickson
American,Canadian novelist
- Gordon Gould
American physicist
- Gordon Bitner Hinckley
American Mormon leader
- Gordon "Gordie" Howe
Canadian ice hockey player
- Gordon Hill Jenkins
American arranger and composer
- Gordon Meredith Lightfoot
Canadian singer,songwriter
- (Albert) Gordon MacRae
American actor/singer
- Gordon James Ramsay
Scottish restaurateur & TV personality
- Gordon David Strachan
Scottish football manager
- George Gordon Byron
Lord Byron, English Romantic poet
- Michael Gordon Clifford
Australian guitarist in "5 Seconds of Summer"
- Gordon Korman
Canadian,American author
Gordon in pop culture
- Gordon Deitrich
character in "V for Vendetta"
- Gordon Gekko
main character in "Wall Street" series
- Gordon Shumway
character on "Alf"
- Gordon Freeman
main character on "Half,Life" series
- David "Gordo" Gordon
character on TV's "Lizzie McGuire"
- Gordon
train from animated series "Thomas & Friends"
- Gordon Robinson
character on TV's "Sesame Street"
- Gordon Smallwood
character the movie "The Mothman Prophecies"
- Gordon Cahill
character on TV's "Walker, Texas Ranger"
- Gordon Cooper Tracy
character from The Thunderbirds series (TV show [1965,66], movie [2004], and TV show remake [2015,]), he was the fourth oldest Tracy son
- Gordon Malloy
character on the TV series "The Orville"