Jorden
A gender-neutral name originating from English, derived from the river Jordan.
Name Census estimates that about 9,120 living Americans carry the first name Jorden. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.0% of registrations being male. The average person named Jorden today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jorden births was 2008 (406 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jorden. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jorden with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
9.1K
~ 1 in 37,583 Americans
Peak year
2008
406 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,412
Tracked since 1903
Census
Jorden in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,874 people with the first name Jorden, which placed it at #2,899 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
#2,899
National first-name rank
People counted
7.9K
7,874 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jorden
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jorden is White at 50.6%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Hispanic (12.9%). 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 Jorden 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 Jorden at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.6% · 3,983
- Black or African American24.6% · 1,935
- Hispanic or Latino12.9% · 1,019
- Two or more races8.3% · 654
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 186
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 97
Gender
Gender distribution for Jorden
Jorden is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 9,335 total registrations, 7,001 (75.0%) were male and 2,334 (25.0%) were female.
Jorden as a male name
- Ranked #3,412 in 2024
- 34 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (348 births)
Jorden as a female name
- Ranked #8,760 in 2022
- 12 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1998 (117 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Jorden on both sides of the split. Of the 7,881 people counted with this name, 5,796 were male (73.5%) and 2,085 were female (26.5%).
Popularity
Jorden: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jorden from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 3,548 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jorden 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 Jorden during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jordens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Jorden, while New Mexico, Nebraska, Idaho recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 144 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jorden
The name Jorden is believed to have its origins in the Old English language, derived from the word "geordan," which means "to strike" or "to hit." It is thought to have been a name given to warriors or soldiers in ancient times, reflecting their strength and prowess in battle.
The earliest recorded use of the name Jorden can be traced back to the 11th century in England. One notable example is Jorden of Arundel, a Norman knight who fought in the Battle of Hastings in 1066 alongside William the Conqueror. He was granted lands in Sussex after the Norman conquest and his descendants continued to use the name for generations.
During the Middle Ages, the name Jorden gained popularity among the nobility and aristocracy in various parts of Europe. One prominent figure was Jorden de Lisle, a French nobleman who lived in the 13th century and was known for his participation in the Crusades. He was also a skilled diplomat and served as an ambassador for the French king.
In the 16th century, the name Jorden was associated with the Protestant Reformation. Jorden van Merverden, a Dutch theologian and reformer, played a significant role in the spread of Protestantism in the Netherlands. He was a vocal critic of the Catholic Church and wrote several influential works defending the Protestant faith.
Another notable bearer of the name Jorden was Jorden Huygens, a Dutch scientist and astronomer who lived in the 17th century. He made important contributions to the field of optics and is credited with developing the first accurate clock for measuring longitude at sea, which was a crucial advancement in navigation.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Jorden Romero was a Mexican general who fought in the Mexican-American War. He was known for his bravery and leadership during the Battle of Buena Vista in 1847, where he played a crucial role in the Mexican forces' defense against the American invasion.
Throughout history, the name Jorden has been associated with various cultural and historical contexts, reflecting its enduring popularity and the diverse backgrounds of its bearers. While it may not be as common today as it once was, the name Jorden continues to carry a sense of strength and resilience rooted in its ancient origins.
People
Jorden + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jorden as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jorden: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jorden?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,120 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jorden 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 37,583 US residents.
Is Jorden a common name?
We classify Jorden as "Rare". It ranks above 97.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,335 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jorden most popular?
The single biggest year for Jorden was 2008, when 406 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jorden is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jorden in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,874 people with the name Jorden, or 2.61 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,899 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 Jorden 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 Jorden?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Jorden on both sides of the split. Of the 7,881 people counted with this name, 5,796 were male (73.5%) and 2,085 were female (26.5%). 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 Jorden?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jorden is White at 50.6%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Hispanic (12.9%). 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 Jorden most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jorden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.6% (3,983 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 Jorden in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jorden a male name?
Yes, 75.0% of people registered as Jorden 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 Jorden still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jorden 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 Jorden 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 people have the name Jorden?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.