Gurdon
A masculine diminutive form of the English surname Gordon.
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Gurdon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gurdon today is around 83 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gurdon births was 1918 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gurdon. 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
- • The typical person named Gurdon is about 83 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Gurdons were born before 1953.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Gurdon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1918
8 babies that year
Average age
83
years old
1946 SSA rank
#3,718
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Gurdon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gurdon from the 1910s through to the 1940s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 23 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gurdon 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 Gurdon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gurdon
The name Gurdon is an English given name with origins dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "gourde," meaning a type of gourd or squash, possibly referring to someone who grew or sold gourds. Some linguists also suggest it may have ties to the Old English word "gurdan," meaning a peasant or farmer.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Gurdon can be found in the Domesday Book, a great survey of England completed in 1086 under the orders of William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book mentions a landowner named Gurdon in the county of Norfolk. This suggests the name was already in use among the Anglo-Norman aristocracy in the late 11th century.
In the 12th century, a Gurdon of Seville is mentioned in the writings of the English historian William of Malmesbury. This Gurdon was a Moorish philosopher and mathematician who lived in Spain during the Islamic Golden Age, indicating the name's potential Arabic or Moorish influences.
One of the earliest notable figures to bear the name was Sir Gurdon le Breton (c. 1210 – 1280), a Norman knight who fought in the Barons' War against King Henry III of England. He was later rewarded with lands in Wiltshire for his service to the crown.
In the 16th century, Gurdon Saltonstall (1520 – 1587) was a prominent English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1598. He was also a member of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers.
Another notable bearer of the name was Gurdon Huntington (1636 – 1704), an early settler of Connecticut and one of the founders of the town of Norwich. He served as a deputy to the Connecticut General Assembly and was involved in various land disputes with neighboring colonies.
The name Gurdon continued to be used in England and its American colonies, though it remained relatively uncommon. Other examples include Gurdon Winthrop (1648 – 1723), a colonial governor of Connecticut, and Gurdon Saltonstall Mumford (1764 – 1834), a United States Representative from New York.
People
Gurdon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gurdon 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
Gurdon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gurdon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gurdon 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 Gurdon a common name?
We classify Gurdon 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, 54 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gurdon most popular?
The single biggest year for Gurdon was 1918, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gurdon is about 83 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 Gurdon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gurdon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gurdon 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 Gurdon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gurdon 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 Gurdon 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 common is the name Gurdon?
See how many Americans are named Gurdon on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.