Gordon

Where Gordon comes from

The main etymology, associated with Celtic names, is from the Scots surname Gordon, from a place name, but the origin is debated: * If the English or Scots name is from a Brythonic language (such as Old Welsh or Old Breton), then possibly from a Proto-Brythonic compound such as *gor (“spacious”) + *din (“fort”); * If the Scots name is itself from English, then possibly from French Gourdon, derived from Gallo-Roman Latin Gordus, from Gaulish *Gordos; * Otherwise, possibly ultimately from Old English *gor-dūn (“mud hill”) whence a habitational name.
— Wiktionary's entry for Gordon
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #233 among boys — 51 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1935
    Peak, #70
    2,615 babies named Gordon — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1937
    Gordon Banks born
    English association football player
  4. 1966
    Gordon Ramsay born
    British chef, restaurateur, and television personality
  5. 1967
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #207.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname.
Namesakes
  • Gordon Banks · English association football player, 1937–2019
  • Gordon Ramsay · British chef, restaurateur, and television personality, born 1966
  • Gordon Moore · American businessman, co-founder of Intel Corporation, 1929–2023
  • Gordon Allport · American psychologist, 1897–1967
  • Gordon Bajnai · Hungarian politician, born 1968

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.