Gericho
A Hebrew name meaning "place of fragrance" or "place of sojourning".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Gericho. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gericho today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gericho births was 2002 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gericho. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gericho. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2002
6 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2002 SSA rank
#9,791
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Gericho: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Gericho by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gericho during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Gericho
The name Gericho is believed to have its origins in the ancient Semitic languages, primarily Hebrew. It is derived from the word "Yericho," which refers to the ancient city of Jericho, one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world, located in the West Bank region of modern-day Palestine.
The city of Jericho holds significant historical and biblical importance. In the Book of Joshua in the Hebrew Bible, it is described as the first city conquered by the Israelites upon their entrance into the Promised Land. The name Jericho is thought to be derived from the Hebrew word "yareach," meaning "moon," possibly referring to the city's ancient worship of lunar deities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gericho can be found in the Bible's Book of Joshua. The city of Jericho is mentioned numerous times, and its conquest by the Israelites under Joshua's leadership is a pivotal event in the biblical narrative.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Gericho. One of the most famous was Gericho ben Chananya, a Jewish scholar who lived in the 1st century CE and was a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest court of Jewish law during the Roman period.
Another significant figure was Gericho the Shunammite, a woman mentioned in the Book of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. She provided hospitality to the prophet Elisha and later witnessed the miracle of her son's resurrection.
In the medieval period, Gericho of Reims was a 10th-century French scholar and theologian known for his work on the allegorical interpretation of the Bible. He served as the abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Rémi in Reims, France.
During the Renaissance, Gericho Buonarroti (1475-1564) was an Italian architect and military engineer, famous for his work on fortifications in Florence and other Italian cities. He was a descendant of the renowned artist Michelangelo.
In more recent times, Gericho Brown (1858-1932) was an African American educator and civil rights activist who worked tirelessly to improve educational opportunities for Black children in the segregated South during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the name Gericho may not be as common today, its historical and biblical roots have imbued it with a rich cultural significance, particularly in the Judeo-Christian tradition and among those with an appreciation for ancient history.
People
Gericho + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gericho as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gericho: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gericho?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gericho going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Gericho a common name?
We classify Gericho as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gericho most popular?
The single biggest year for Gericho was 2002, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gericho is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gericho in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gericho a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gericho in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Gericho still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gericho in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gericho can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Gericho?
Find out how many Americans are named Gericho on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.