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Jordan Name Meaning, Origins & History

Jordan

Pronunciation: JOR-dun

Meaning Descend Origin Hebrew Gender Unisex
BOYS RANK
#131
TREND
27
GIRLS RANK
#584
TREND
45
Peak Years
1990, 1991, 1997
Lowest Years
1902, 1898, 1889
Energy Archetype
Courageous & Inventive

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of boys named Jordan in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Jordan

  • An all-time favorite: U.S. records show 401,147 boys named Jordan from 1880 through 2025.
  • An established favorite: Jordan held a place in the U.S. top 100 for 42 consecutive years, from 1982 through 2023.
  • More than 536 thousand babies named Jordan: U.S. records list 536,734 babies given the name Jordan from 1880 through 2025. Of these, 135,587 girls received the name Jordan - about 1 girl for every 3 boys.

What Does the Name Jordan Mean?

Jordan is the English form of the Hebrew river name Yarden (יַרְדֵּן), which comes from the root yarad (יָרַד), meaning 'to go down' or 'descend.' The river name is commonly explained as 'the descender' or 'the one flowing down,' a description of the river's course. In the Hebrew Bible the river is called HaYarden (הַיַּרְדֵּן), 'the Jordan.' Greek speakers rendered the name as Ἰορδάνης (Iordanes), and Latin speakers as Iordanis or Jordanus; these forms passed into Western European languages, including English Jordan. The basic meaning is geographical and etymological, not a statement about a person's character. Later Christian symbolism attached to the river - baptism and entry into the Promised Land - gave the name religious associations, but these are interpretations of the river, not separate etymologies. The modern country of Jordan is named after the river, not the reverse.

Jordan Name History & Origins

The Jordan River runs through the region of ancient Israel and is central to biblical geography. In the Hebrew Bible, the Israelites cross the Jordan to enter Canaan, and the river is associated with miracles such as the healing of Naaman. In the New Testament, John the Baptist baptizes Jesus in the Jordan. These religious associations helped the river's name spread through Greek and Latin Christian cultures: the Greek New Testament uses Ἰορδάνης (Iordanes), and Latin writers used Iordanis and Jordanus.

Jordan is found as a personal name in the early medieval period. Jordanes, a sixth-century historian who wrote about the Goths, is an early documented bearer. In medieval Latin Europe, Jordanus served as a baptismal name, and in England after the Norman Conquest it appears as a masculine given name. It was common enough to become a hereditary surname, as in the English surname Jordan. Other medieval bearers include Jordan of Saxony (died 1237), an early leader of the Dominican order, and Jordanus de Nemore, a thirteenth-century writer on mathematics and mechanics.

In the modern English-speaking world, Jordan is used as a given name for both men and women. It also appears in fiction, such as Jordan Baker in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (1925); this is a literary use of a name that was already long established. Related forms in other European languages include French Jourdain, Italian Giordano, and Spanish Jordán. The country of Jordan, called al-Urdunn in Arabic, takes its name from the river.

How Popular is the Name Jordan?

Jordan remained among the top 100 boy names in the U.S. from 1982 to 2023. Its highest annual birth count was in 1990, and people born that year turn 36 in 2026.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

Explore Name Lists Featuring Jordan

Carl appears in several baby name collections based on U.S. popularity records, naming trends, and name characteristics. Explore these lists to discover other names with similar histories, styles, or features.

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How the Name Jordan Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You are honest, benevolent, brilliant and often inventive, full of high inspirations. You are courageous, honest, determined, original and creative. You are a leader, especially for a cause. Sometimes you do not care to finish what you start, and may leave details to others. You can do well in position of authority, and prospers in intellectual and professional fields. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.

Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.

✦ Jordan's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Jordan's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
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