FastNamesJordan
Hebrew name meaning "Derived from Hebrew Yarden (יַרְדֵּן), meaning 'descender' or 'flowing down', naming the holy river flowing from Mount Hermon to the Dead Sea.". Ranked 131st for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Jordan
Derived from Hebrew Yarden (יַרְדֵּן), meaning 'descender' or 'flowing down', naming the holy river flowing from Mount Hermon to the Dead Sea.
Linguistically, Jordan is classified under Hebrew naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "JOR-duhn".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Jordan has been given to a total of 401,196 boys. It has also been given to 135,599 girls.
Peak year: Jordan reached its highest relative share among boys in 1991, when 16,020 babies received the name (7,929 per million births).
All-time best rank: 26th place, first achieved in 1997.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 131st with 2,732 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 59th (down 72 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Jordan in the 1990s than in any other decade (144,756 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 158 |
| 1890s | 117 |
| 1900s | 123 |
| 1910s | 395 |
| 1920s | 854 |
| 1930s | 770 |
| 1940s | 690 |
| 1950s | 1,189 |
| 1960s | 1,851 |
| 1970s | 5,449 |
| 1980s | 57,172 |
| 1990s | 144,756 |
| 2000s | 101,187 |
| 2010s | 64,530 |
| 2020s | 21,955 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Jordan is most common in the US
Accounting for when Jordan was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Hawaii: 1.8 times the national rate (2,238 births since 1910).
- North Dakota: 1.8 times the national rate (1,604 births since 1910).
- South Dakota: 1.7 times the national rate (1,637 births since 1910).
- Utah: 1.4 times the national rate (6,313 births since 1910).
- Delaware: 1.4 times the national rate (1,268 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Jordan?
About 387,000 living American boys and men share the name Jordan. Additionally, an estimated 134,000 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Jordan is 27 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Jordan
Jordan originates from the Hebrew river name Yarden, derived from the verbal root yarad, signifying 'to go down' or 'descend', describing the steep drop of the Jordan River into the Jordan Rift Valley. The river holds supreme theological importance across Abrahamic traditions: in the Book of Joshua, the Israelites crossed its parted waters into the Promised Land, and in the New Testament Gospels, John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ in its waters, marking the initiation of his public ministry.
During the Middle Ages, crusaders, knights, and pilgrims returning from pilgrimages to the Holy Land frequently brought back flasks of water from the Jordan River to baptize their offspring. Children baptized with this sacred water were frequently given the baptismal name Jordanus in Latin or Jordan in vernacular French and English. The name took root across medieval Britain, giving rise to common patronymic surnames like Jordanson and Judd.
In twentieth-century American vital records, Jordan experienced an extraordinary resurgence as a modern, sporty gender-neutral given name. Rising steadily from the late 1960s, Jordan entered the masculine top one hundred in 1982 and the feminine top one hundred in 1989. Its masculine popularity peaked at rank 26 in 1997, amplified by the global cultural ascendancy of basketball legend Michael Jordan, cementing its status as an iconic turn-of-the-century favorite.
Notable people named Jordan
- Jordan Peele (1979–), American filmmaker, comedian, and Oscar-winning director
- Jordan Spieth (1993–), American professional golfer and major championship winner
- Jordan Pickford (1994–), English professional footballer and goalkeeper
- Jordan Henderson (1990–), English professional footballer
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 148.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 180.
- Douglas Harper. Online Etymology Dictionary. Reference link.