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
0%100%Median name50%97.5%
Gideon vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Gideon's 22,270 recorded births place it above 98.26% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

51 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

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

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (2017)
1,161
Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
05001,0001,500 188019091927194419611978199520122025 993

Gideon popularity over time - girls

32 total births recorded since 2002 (Gideon as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 32 births
45678910 20022011201820212022 9

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

births

What this shows Peak: 2010s at 9,221 births (41% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

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 vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 2%4%6%8%10% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -146, 7.8%-111, 2.7%-138, 5.1%-146, 2.7%-124, 3.4%-146, 2.8%-116, 7.1%-101, 4%-146, 2.7%-37, 6.9%-133, 2.7%-146, 3.6%-113, 3%-97, 6.7%-144, 2.3%Gideon-146, 5.2%Gideon
Gideon vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Gideon by state

Where Gideon concentrates geographically, total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Gideon
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%
Texas share of Gideon's total US births 7.6%
Even split

1,703 of 22,270 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Gideon appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Gideon?
Gideon has been given to 22,270 babies in the U.S. since 1880, according to SSA data. Its archive ordinal is #787 of 45,481 among boys' names (total births, highest first). Among boys in 2025, it is #337 of 13,930. 1,161 babies were born in 2017, its single highest year.
Where does Gideon sit in the SSA name archive?
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. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Gideon most popular?
Gideon was most popular in the 2010s decade with 9,221 total births. The single peak year was 2017.
Where is Gideon most popular?
The top states for the name Gideon are Texas (1,703 births), California (1,406 births), Pennsylvania (1,117 births).
How long has the name Gideon been used?
Records for Gideon go back to 1880, giving 146 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Gideon?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Gid, Giddeon, Gidon. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

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

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.

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.