George
George was given to 2,848 boys in 2025, #126 among boys’ names; 1,497,260 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 535,000 Americans named George and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (36% of everyone recorded); the median is 63 years old and half are between 43 and 75.
George is the #49 most common first name among living American men and boys, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of George by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does George mean?
Wiktionary, English section
George is “a male given name from Ancient Greek.” Its etymology gives the senses “farmer, earth worker” (γεωργός) and “earth” (γῆ) and “work” (ἔργον).
Also “a diminutive of the female given names Georgina and Georgia; also used in the conjoined name George Ann(e).”
Name of an early saint, from Middle English George, from Latin Geōrgius, from Ancient Greek Γεώργῐος (Geṓrgĭos), from γεωργός (geōrgós, “farmer, earth worker”), from γῆ (gê, “earth”) (combining form γεω- (geō-)) + ἔργον (érgon, “work”) Doublet of Jorge and Geevarghese. The aircraft autopilot sense is probably from George DeBeeson, who patented an early (1931) autopilot system, and/or a reference to the expression let George do it.
/dʒɔːdʒ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is George?
#126 among boys’ names, 2025
George rose from #135 in 2015 to #126 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 1.6 to 1.7 per 1,000.
27,682 babies in 1921, the peak
George peaked in 1921, when 27,682 babies were given it (27,476 boys, #6 among boys’ names). The 2,853 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 10% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,848 | #126 | 1.7 |
| 2024 | 2,902 | #123 | 1.7 |
| 2023 | 2,697 | #136 | 1.6 |
| 2022 | 2,640 | #142 | 1.5 |
| 2021 | 2,799 | #134 | 1.6 |
| 2020 | 2,775 | #132 | 1.6 |
| 2019 | 3,197 | #120 | 1.8 |
| 2018 | 3,083 | #127 | 1.7 |
| 2017 | 3,169 | #125 | 1.7 |
| 2016 | 3,313 | #126 | 1.7 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3,053 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 2014 | 3,007 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 2013 | 2,559 | #157 | 1.4 |
| 2012 | 2,334 | #166 | 1.2 |
| 2011 | 2,318 | #165 | 1.2 |
| 2010 | 2,374 | #165 | 1.2 |
| 2009 | 2,381 | #163 | 1.2 |
| 2008 | 2,553 | #155 | 1.3 |
| 2007 | 2,760 | #148 | 1.3 |
| 2006 | 2,701 | #153 | 1.3 |
| 2005 | 2,823 | #139 | 1.4 |
| 2004 | 2,735 | #146 | 1.4 |
| 2003 | 2,910 | #138 | 1.5 |
| 2002 | 3,018 | #131 | 1.6 |
| 2001 | 3,088 | #129 | 1.6 |
| 2000 | 3,037 | #130 | 1.5 |
| 1999 | 3,041 | #123 | 1.6 |
| 1998 | 3,044 | #125 | 1.6 |
| 1997 | 3,177 | #121 | 1.7 |
| 1996 | 3,228 | #118 | 1.7 |
| 1995 | 3,286 | #115 | 1.7 |
| 1994 | 3,317 | #110 | 1.7 |
| 1993 | 3,513 | #104 | 1.8 |
| 1992 | 3,894 | #95 | 1.9 |
| 1991 | 4,179 | #87 | 2.1 |
| 1990 | 4,567 | #79 | 2.2 |
| 1989 | 4,513 | #79 | 2.3 |
| 1988 | 4,296 | #78 | 2.2 |
| 1987 | 4,089 | #77 | 2.2 |
| 1986 | 4,348 | #74 | 2.4 |
| 1985 | 4,259 | #72 | 2.3 |
| 1984 | 4,265 | #68 | 2.4 |
| 1983 | 4,495 | #65 | 2.5 |
| 1982 | 4,990 | #62 | 2.8 |
| 1981 | 5,157 | #61 | 2.9 |
| 1980 | 5,300 | #60 | 3.0 |
| 1979 | 5,263 | #57 | 3.1 |
| 1978 | 5,297 | #58 | 3.2 |
| 1977 | 5,606 | #57 | 3.4 |
| 1976 | 5,556 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1975 | 5,847 | #53 | 3.7 |
| 1974 | 6,283 | #49 | 4.0 |
| 1973 | 6,601 | #46 | 4.2 |
| 1972 | 7,167 | #44 | 4.4 |
| 1971 | 8,226 | #42 | 4.7 |
| 1970 | 8,911 | #40 | 4.8 |
| 1969 | 9,199 | #38 | 5.1 |
| 1968 | 9,382 | #36 | 5.4 |
| 1967 | 9,699 | #36 | 5.6 |
| 1966 | 9,941 | #37 | 5.6 |
| 1965 | 10,680 | #34 | 5.7 |
| 1964 | 11,792 | #33 | 5.9 |
| 1963 | 12,079 | #34 | 5.9 |
| 1962 | 12,544 | #32 | 6.1 |
| 1961 | 13,644 | #31 | 6.4 |
| 1960 | 14,063 | #33 | 6.6 |
| 1959 | 15,012 | #32 | 7.0 |
| 1958 | 15,637 | #31 | 7.4 |
| 1957 | 16,887 | #29 | 7.8 |
| 1956 | 17,232 | #27 | 8.1 |
| 1955 | 18,167 | #26 | 8.8 |
| 1954 | 18,704 | #24 | 9.2 |
| 1953 | 19,176 | #22 | 9.7 |
| 1952 | 19,821 | #22 | 10.2 |
| 1951 | 20,212 | #22 | 10.7 |
| 1950 | 20,183 | #20 | 11.3 |
| 1949 | 21,308 | #18 | 12.0 |
| 1948 | 21,926 | #16 | 12.5 |
| 1947 | 23,916 | #16 | 13.1 |
| 1946 | 21,575 | #16 | 13.3 |
| 1945 | 19,327 | #15 | 14.4 |
| 1944 | 20,419 | #14 | 15.0 |
| 1943 | 21,692 | #14 | 15.2 |
| 1942 | 21,275 | #14 | 15.4 |
| 1941 | 19,260 | #13 | 15.7 |
| 1940 | 18,315 | #11 | 15.8 |
| 1939 | 17,886 | #11 | 16.2 |
| 1938 | 18,435 | #11 | 16.6 |
| 1937 | 18,439 | #10 | 17.3 |
| 1936 | 18,197 | #9 | 17.5 |
| 1935 | 18,564 | #8 | 17.8 |
| 1934 | 18,500 | #8 | 17.9 |
| 1933 | 18,356 | #8 | 18.5 |
| 1932 | 20,439 | #8 | 19.6 |
| 1931 | 20,685 | #8 | 19.9 |
| 1930 | 22,788 | #8 | 20.8 |
| 1929 | 23,020 | #8 | 21.4 |
| 1928 | 24,391 | #8 | 22.0 |
| 1927 | 25,949 | #7 | 23.0 |
| 1926 | 25,910 | #6 | 23.3 |
| 1925 | 26,560 | #6 | 23.8 |
| 1924 | 27,373 | #6 | 24.2 |
| 1923 | 27,025 | #6 | 24.7 |
| 1922 | 27,350 | #6 | 25.1 |
| 1921 | 27,476 | #6 | 24.9 |
| 1920 | 26,891 | #6 | 25.3 |
| 1919 | 25,170 | #6 | 25.7 |
| 1918 | 26,318 | #6 | 26.0 |
| 1917 | 24,196 | #6 | 26.1 |
| 1916 | 23,381 | #7 | 26.3 |
| 1915 | 22,307 | #6 | 26.3 |
| 1914 | 17,602 | #6 | 26.9 |
| 1913 | 13,874 | #6 | 27.1 |
| 1912 | 11,734 | #6 | 27.3 |
| 1911 | 6,586 | #4 | 29.1 |
| 1910 | 5,441 | #5 | 28.0 |
| 1909 | 4,688 | #4 | 28.6 |
| 1908 | 4,584 | #4 | 29.7 |
| 1907 | 4,445 | #4 | 30.3 |
| 1906 | 4,201 | #4 | 31.5 |
| 1905 | 4,256 | #4 | 32.2 |
| 1904 | 4,219 | #4 | 32.9 |
| 1903 | 3,961 | #4 | 33.2 |
| 1902 | 4,223 | #4 | 34.4 |
| 1901 | 3,609 | #4 | 33.9 |
| 1900 | 5,403 | #4 | 35.9 |
| 1899 | 4,018 | #4 | 37.8 |
| 1898 | 4,853 | #4 | 39.6 |
| 1897 | 4,078 | #4 | 36.2 |
| 1896 | 4,286 | #4 | 35.8 |
| 1895 | 4,289 | #4 | 36.5 |
| 1894 | 4,365 | #4 | 37.7 |
| 1893 | 4,320 | #4 | 38.5 |
| 1892 | 4,760 | #4 | 39.0 |
| 1891 | 3,931 | #4 | 38.8 |
| 1890 | 4,458 | #4 | 40.2 |
| 1889 | 4,430 | #4 | 40.1 |
| 1888 | 4,912 | #4 | 40.6 |
| 1887 | 4,284 | #4 | 42.2 |
| 1886 | 4,671 | #4 | 42.2 |
| 1885 | 4,674 | #4 | 43.4 |
| 1884 | 4,961 | #4 | 43.3 |
| 1883 | 4,736 | #5 | 45.3 |
| 1882 | 5,193 | #4 | 45.7 |
| 1881 | 4,664 | #4 | 46.3 |
| 1880 | 5,126 | #5 | 46.4 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is George a boy’s or a girl’s name?
George has been given almost only to boys: 9,963 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named George: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named George, and how old are they?
535,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 36% of the 1,497,260 Americans ever recorded as George. The median George alive today is 63 years old; half are between 43 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 631,924 people named George (1,524 women and girls, 630,400 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 617,293 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 68,900 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 215,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 105,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 63,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 43,600 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 37,800 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named George born?
The states with the most babies named George are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 135,743 | #100 | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 119,780 | #115 | 1.2× |
| California | 80,900 | #165 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 72,540 | #76 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 67,265 | #175 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 62,332 | #129 | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 54,860 | #166 | 1.3× |
| Massachusetts | 50,448 | #66 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 45,435 | #124 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 42,079 | #126 | 1.0× |
Where George is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, George is most over-represented in Maryland: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of George with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 1,498,989 babies since 1880, George is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 2,853 of their 2,867 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as George
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about George and names like it
- Compare George and GerogeBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sGeorge peaked in 1921.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named George since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for George: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named George.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named George alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with GMost given first.