Gotham
A fictional nickname for New York City from which Batman operates.
Name Census estimates that about 218 living Americans carry the first name Gotham. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gotham today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gotham births was 2016 (50 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gotham. 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.
People living today
218
~ 1 in 1,572,268 Americans
Peak year
2016
50 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,207
Tracked since 2015
Popularity
Gotham: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gotham from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 184 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gotham 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 Gotham during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gothams live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Gotham, while Texas, Florida, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gotham
The name Gotham is believed to have originated from the Old English word "gat" meaning "goat", and "ham" meaning "homestead" or "village". It is thought to have first been used as a place name in England, referring to a village or settlement where goats were raised or kept.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Gotham as a place name is found in the medieval folklore tale "The Wise Men of Gotham", which dates back to the 13th century. This tale depicts the residents of the village of Gotham as foolish or simple-minded, and it is believed to have been written as a satirical commentary on rural life during that time period.
While the name Gotham is more commonly associated with the fictional city of the same name in Batman comics and movies, it has also been used as a given name throughout history. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Gotham was Gotham de Villiers, a French nobleman who lived in the 12th century.
Another notable bearer of the name Gotham was Gotham Blackwell, an English philosopher and theologian who lived from 1605 to 1676. He is best known for his work "The Compleat Gentleman", which was a treatise on education and moral philosophy.
In the 19th century, there was a Gotham Hoskins, an American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, from 1861 to 1863. He was instrumental in the city's growth and development during that time period.
Gotham Hollingsworth was an American author and journalist who lived from 1865 to 1942. He is best known for his novels and short stories that explored themes of rural life and the American West.
Finally, Gotham Cartwright was a British artist and sculptor who lived from 1901 to 1972. He is known for his abstract sculptures and his work in the modernist art movement.
Overall, while the name Gotham may be more closely associated with the fictional city in Batman lore, it has a rich history as a given name with roots in Old English and medieval folklore.
People
Gotham + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gotham 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
Gotham: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gotham?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 218 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gotham 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 1,572,268 US residents.
Is Gotham a common name?
We classify Gotham as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 220 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gotham most popular?
The single biggest year for Gotham was 2016, when 50 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gotham is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gotham a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gotham 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.
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.