Gideon
Meaning
mighty warrior, one who cuts down; biblical judge and military leader who defeated the Midianites
The story
Gideon is the biblical judge, mighty warrior in the traditional reading, though the Bible's own portrait is better: the man threshing wheat in a winepress to hide from raiders, who asked God for proof twice, got it twice, and then routed an army with three hundred lamps and trumpets. The record shows the long American patience: under 250 a decade from the 1890s through the 1960s, then a two-decade warmup and the build, about 1,100 in the 1990s, 3,500, 9,200 in the 2010s, and 6,300 so far this decade. A society of traveling Bible-placers made the name a fixture of hotel nightstands for a century, which kept it familiar without making it common. In our records it goes to boys about 22,200 to 30. The judge who doubted, tested, and then won anyway: as scriptural role models go, the record suggests modern parents find that one unusually usable.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Gideon peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
2,108 people · the #4,932 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 100,000 · median age 40
Among people named Gideon living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Gideon
Most people given the name Gideon in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Gideon deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Gideon truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Gideon fits with your family’s names and surname.
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