Gordan vs Gorden
American parents have registered 2,049 Gordens since 1880, against 1,025 Gordans. Neither name reached five babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Gordan Gorden
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 97 years in which either name was published, Gorden for 70 years and Gordan for 27 years. The lead changed hands 12 times.
- 1886–1966 Gorden ahead, apart from 2 short spells
- 1967–1971 Gordan ahead
- 1972–1979 Gorden ahead
- 1982–2004 Gordan ahead
7 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Gordan | Gorden | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,025 | 2,049 |
| Most in one year | 24 | 82 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | under 5 |
| Estimated living today | 470 | 610 |
| Median age today | 57 | 68 |
| Peak year | 1930 | 1922 |
| Best rank | 1,496th boys | 722nd boys |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | unranked |
| First recorded | 1912 | 1886 |
| Girls / boys | 0 / 1,025 | 0 / 2,049 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Gordens alive today are over 68; half the Gordans are over 57. That is 11 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Gordan and Gorden.