Gorden
A Scottish masculine diminutive form of Gordon meaning "great hill".
Name Census estimates that about 696 living Americans carry the first name Gorden. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gorden today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gorden births was 1922 (82 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gorden. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Gorden is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Gordens were born before 1967.
People living today
696
~ 1 in 492,463 Americans
Peak year
1922
82 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
2019 SSA rank
#12,798
Tracked since 1886
Census
Gorden in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 683 people with the first name Gorden, which placed it at #16,487 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#16,487
National first-name rank
People counted
683
683 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gorden
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gorden is White at 74.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gorden described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gorden at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.7% · 510
- Black or African American10.1% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.6% · 59
- Two or more races2.8% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 11
Popularity
Gorden: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gorden from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 509 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gorden by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gorden during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gordens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Gorden, while California, Virginia, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gorden
The name Gorden has its roots in the Germanic languages, particularly in Old English and Old Norse. It is believed to have originated as a variant of the name Gordon, which itself is derived from the Old English word "gār" meaning "spear" and the Old Norse word "gunn" meaning "battle."
In its earliest forms, the name Gorden was likely used to describe a skilled warrior or a person associated with battle or military prowess. It was a common name among Germanic tribes and communities, particularly in areas that are now parts of modern-day England, Scotland, and Germany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gorden can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and property holders in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Gordune," indicating its use among the Anglo-Saxon population of the time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Gorden. One of the most famous was Gorden of Winchester (c. 1165 - 1234), an English monk and scholar who served as the Bishop of Winchester from 1205 until his death. He was known for his extensive writings on theology and his advocacy for church reforms.
Another prominent figure was Gorden Baillie (1616 - 1687), a Scottish nobleman and military commander who fought for the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. He was known for his bravery and loyalty to King Charles I and was later appointed as the Governor of the Isle of Man.
In the 18th century, Gorden Gage (1718 - 1788) was a British military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1774 to 1775. His tenure was marked by growing tensions between the colonists and the British government, ultimately leading to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War.
Another notable figure was Gorden Khartoum (1833 - 1885), a British army officer and administrator who served as the Governor-General of the Sudan from 1877 to 1885. He gained fame for his defense of Khartoum against the Mahdist forces, but ultimately lost his life during the siege of the city.
In the 20th century, Gorden Parks (1912 - 2006) was an American photographer, filmmaker, and writer who is celebrated for his groundbreaking work in documenting the African American experience. He is best known for his powerful photographs capturing the struggles and triumphs of the civil rights movement.
People
Gorden + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gorden as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gorden: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gorden?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 696 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gorden going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 492,463 US residents.
Is Gorden a common name?
We classify Gorden as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,049 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gorden most popular?
The single biggest year for Gorden was 1922, when 82 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gorden is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gorden in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 683 people with the name Gorden, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,487 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gorden in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gorden?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gorden leans strongly male. 677 people counted with this name were male (98.8%), compared with 8 female bearers (1.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gorden?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gorden is White at 74.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gorden most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gorden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.7% (510 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gorden in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gorden a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gorden in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Gorden still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gorden in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gorden can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Gorden?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Gorden at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.