Boys' name · since 1880
Gideon
Gideon has 22,270 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2017 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #787 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #337 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 22,270
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
Yes -- Gideon is the #337 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 22,270 recorded since 1880.
Gideon has 22,270 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #337 as of the latest data, more common than 98% of boys, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #787 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #337 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 22,270 born since 1880
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Gideon ranks #787 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #337 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 22,270 born since 1880, peaking in the 2010s.
- #787 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #337 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 22,270
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
Gideon's 22,270 recorded births place it above 98.26% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Gideon compares
22,270 Top 6% higher than 94% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Gideon's all-time total is 60x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Gideon | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 22,270 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 1,161 | 34 | 22,252 |
Gideon's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Gideon's full recorded timeline at 1959, 96% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 4% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1883, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2017 peak of 1,161 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Gideon popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2017)
- 1,161
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Currently ranks #337 among boys.
22,270 total births across 146 years of SSA records. Peaked in 2017 with 1,161 births in a single year.
Gideon popularity over time - girls
32 total births recorded since 2002 (Gideon as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Gideon accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Gideon by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (9,221 births, 41% of the file).
2010s was Gideon's strongest decade.
9,221 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 41% of all-time use.
Gideon births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 81
1880s
81 births
- 1890s 24
1890s
24 births
- 1900s 40
1900s
40 births
- 1910s 185
1910s
185 births
- 1920s 226
1920s
226 births
- 1930s 115
1930s
115 births
- 1940s 120
1940s
120 births
- 1950s 160
1950s
160 births
- 1960s 207
1960s
207 births
- 1970s 402
1970s
402 births
- 1980s 704
1980s
704 births
- 1990s 1,089
1990s
1,089 births
- 2000s 3,460
2000s
3,460 births
- 2010s
2010s
9,221 births
- 2020s
2020s
6,236 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 9,221 births (41% of all-time use).
Gideon decade highlights
- Peak decade 9,221 births
- Runner-up 6,236 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
How Gideon compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Gideon's total volume
Gideon by state
Where Gideon concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 1,703 | 7.6% |
| #2 | California | | 1,406 | 6.3% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 1,117 | 5.0% |
| #4 | Ohio | | 1,012 | 4.5% |
| #5 | New York | | 908 | 4.1% |
| #6 | Michigan | | 820 | 3.7% |
| #7 | Florida | | 725 | 3.3% |
| #8 | Washington | | 719 | 3.2% |
1,703 of 22,270 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- Texas 7.6% of nationwide
- California 6.3% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 5.0% of nationwide
- Ohio 4.5% of nationwide
- New York 4.1% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
Texas accounts for 7.6% of all recorded births nationwide - a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Gideon appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Gideon's data
- Gideon's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (9,221 total births) through the 2020s (6,236) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- Texas records the most Gideons (1,703 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Gideon
Nearby Names Like Gideon
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Gideon
Compare Gideon side by side: Gideon vs Gid Gideon vs Giddeon Gideon vs Gidon
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Gideon
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Gideon: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2017)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Gideon draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
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